PTCL blocks ECP site access due to massive traffic: DG IT

Website started receiving 50,000 visits per minute, claims DG IT of Election Commission.

KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) resorted to blocking access to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website owing to sudden, massive increases in traffic, said Director-General of the ECP’s IT department on Monday.

The website allegedly started receiving 50,000 visits per minute after the ECP began uploading the nomination papers of candidates. As a result, the website was unavailable for most visitors at the time, and accessibility remained limited throughout the day.

The DG IT said that the ECP website itself had no flaws and the commission is trying to find alternatives to handle the site's traffic.

The ECP website was defaced by an Indian hacker on Friday and remained unavailable for two days till the commission shifted the website to a new server.

The number of visits to the website has increased ahead of the general elections scheduled for May 11.