Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said cell phone services would be suspended in certain parts of the country for four hours on Saturday (today) to minimise threats of terror attacks on Eidul Azha.
Addressing a press conference, Malik said the suspension would not be carried out across the country, but in areas that were vulnerable to terrorist attacks, adding that the suspension would remain effective from 6am to 10am on Eidul Azha. Giving the breakup, the minister said that that most areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 20 cities in Balochistan, three in Punjab, and two cities of Sindh would be affected by this measure. The minister also shared with the media copies of letters written by provincial governments who had requested for suspension of the services. Malik asserted that the decision had not been taken by an individual and rather all stakeholders were taken “on board”.
“The Sindh government has requested me to suspend services almost across the province,” the minister said, adding that he had turned down the request and the services would be blocked only in areas with security concerns. However, he did not elaborate the nature of “concerns”. Asked about the criticism faced by the government over mobile service suspension, the minister said that he had been receiving messages on social media networks from several people calling him names and abuses who said that he had taken the country back into the stone age. “In return, I only request (them) patience … I have an obligation. I am the interior minister and providing security to you is my responsibility.”
He said the order by the Sindh High Court was also taken into consideration before making the decision. He claimed that the court did not order against the suspension, but it said that the decision should be a speaking order. “Earlier, we used to fill our own records which were not for public consumption. But this time, based on intelligence, we have sent out a proper notification so it can be seen,” he maintained. He said people who did not offer Eid prayers would find their cell phones working when they wake up in the morning. Asked about Nawaz Sharif’s statement expressing confidence on FIA probe regarding Asghar Khan case, Malik said that Sharif had trusted FIA; hence his faith would not be breached. He however said that there were differences within the PML-N regarding the FA probe. “I wonder why Shahbaz Sharif has lost trust in FIA now. This is the same FIA he (Shahbaz Sharif) used to trust in the past,” he said.
Cell phones to stay offline for 4 hours today
