Nearly half of Pakistan’s population lacks internet access-that’s more than 115 million people completely disconnected from all digital resources, up against tremendous digital inequality which only seems to get worse each year. Pakistan also has some of the widest mobile gender gaps in the world with 38% of women less likely than men to own a mobile phone and 49% less likely to use mobile internet. Although there are policies in place to promote universal Internet access, there are no strategies for their implementation. Laws alone cannot remedy a problem that has never been a priority for Pakistani policymakers. Covid-19 was particularly instrumental in underlining this digital device. With over 300,000 schools closing and switching to virtual education during the pandemic, smartphones and the internet, the fundamentals of connected life, remained tragically out of reach for the majority of students in the country. This combined with regular blackouts and internet shutdowns due to political life means that digital connectivity continues to be an elusive ambition for most people in Pakistan. The Pakistani state often cites security concerns as a pretext for denying people access to the internet but everyone knows that this is not the whole picture. Accessing the internet means being able to access information, critical information that allows people to form their own opinions as opposed to prescriptively following what they are told. Digital literacy goes far beyond using your phone to watch your favourite late-night talk show. It is intimately tied to our survival in a world where the most important information isn’t found within the confines of a physical textbook or even a newspaper. Digital skills have also become indispensable to professional roles across various sectors, requiring at least a basic level of digital knowledge to freely navigate the web. In a world whose needs are rapidly changing to adapt to innovations in technology, the digital divide is ultimately a human rights issue, a structural reality that perpetuates social, economic and political disparities. There is good reason to argue that broadband should be a public utility but this might be too much to ask from a country where access to clean water and electricity are not always a guarantee. *