Cellular networks jammed in different parts of country for 9, 10 Muharram

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The administration has suspended cellular phone services in all major areas of the country, including the federal capital Islamabad, from morning till late night for two days as a security measure for Muharram processions.

Moreover, citizens in Karachi also experienced partial suspension of cellular services in the city and other parts of Sindh.

Sindh Home Secretary Kazi Kabeer said that cell phone services would remain suspended between 7 am and 12 midnight on 9th and 10th of Muharram (Thursday and Friday) in different cities of Sindh, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur, Larkana, Shikarpur and Jacobabad.

However, the senior official added that in the provincial capital, the mobile phone service would be blocked only in areas near procession routes for the convenience of the public.

Mobile services are suspended every year during Ashura as part of security measures.

The provincial government has written a letter to the federal interior ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), urging them to place a ban on mobile services/internet in major cities of Sindh on 8th, 9th and 10th of Muharram.

The ban on cell phone/internet was suggested in view of “apprehensions of coordination of criminal activity by miscreants/criminals through the use of cellular phones/internet during Muharram related majlis (religious gathering) and processions,” according to contents of the letter.

The cell phone companies could be asked to restore cellular services in case of an emergency, the letter read.

Moreover, a notification issued by a district magistrate stated that the mobile phone services would be partially shut down from morning to night in different parts of the capital as well.