Internet failures halt public services

Sources say property registrations worth millions of rupees have been delayed

RAWALPINDI:

Various public departments, including the property registration system, affidavit and power of attorney services and tehsil and district courts in Rawalpindi district have come to a grinding halt due to continuous internet failure over the past five days.

As a result, property registrations worth millions of rupees have been stalled.

The tehsil office, cantonment office and court registry office received 281 registry cases this week, however, only 157 registries were cleared, and the remaining cases could not be addressed due to internet issues.

To make matters worse, the biometric system has also stopped working.

Property dealers and stamp paper sellers claim that the malfunctioning of the biometric and registry internet system every 15 days has become a recurring ritual.

Some say that certain influential groups are provided special access to the online system despite the internet being down.

This preferential activity is reportedly made possible through calls made between 5.30pm and 6.30pm when all court and tehsil offices are officially closed.

As a result of this discrepancy, the general public has to go through exhausting and repetitive attempts at getting their work done.

Elderly parents are forced to make multiple visits to the court and tehsil offices for new biometric registries and power of attorney after being sent away empty-handed.

Property Dealers Union Vice President, Hassan Shah, stated that the property registration stamps shifting online has crippled the registry system.

Slow internet speeds have added to the woes of citizens, causing immense frustration.

The situation is particularly challenging for immigrants from foreign countries, who face additional hurdles when buying and selling properties.

With limited time at their disposal, these individuals are often forced to pay substantial bribes, amounting to millions of rupees.

Furthermore, the sale of stamp papers has also been severely impacted due to the internet system's daily disruptions. Leader of the Stamp Dealers Union Malik Waheed Awan has urged the authorities to restore the old manual system if the internet system cannot be fixed.