No cellular service in 53 towns today

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to thwart any plans of terrorists to attack processions on the occasion of the Chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA), the government has decided to suspend mobile phone services in 53 towns and cities across the country on Thursday (today), Geo News reported on Wednesday.

Pillion riding will also be banned in sensitive areas of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Quetta.

The mobile phone services would be blocked in six districts of Sindh, six districts of Khyber Pakhunkhwa, 18 districts of Punjab, nine districts of Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan between 8am and 10pm.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkwa mobiles will become silent from 12am. Areas where the service will remain suspended include Karachi, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Kotli, Multan, Lahore, DI Khan, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot, Sargodha, Jafferabad, Jhal Magsi, Bagh, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Bannu, Gilgit and Bahawalpur.

Reports from various sources suggest that wireless services along with pillion riding will also be banned in sensitive areas of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Quetta.

Sources in the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that after consulting all provincial authorities, the decision has been taken to block mobile phone services between 8am and 10pm on Thursday.

The Punjab Police had also sent a request to the provincial home ministry to block the mobile service as a part of pre-emptive measures on Hazrat Imam Hussain’s Chehlum.

Security arrangements have been finalised for the processions of the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his companions who sacrificed their lives in Karbala.

Our correspondent from Peshawar adds: The cellular phone service would be blocked in six districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today (Thursday) from 10am to 5pm.

A source at the Department of Home and Tribal Affairs said the cellular phone service would be blocked in Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Hangu, Kohat and Bannu to ensure the peaceful observance of the chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA). Extraordinary security measures have been taken in the sensitive districts having a history of sectarian violence.

Cops in Peshawar were directed to stay alert and keep a check on suspicious persons and vehicles entering the city.

The police recovered a huge quantity of explosives and ammunition during a raid the other day. The cops said the group was planning to use the explosives for an attack on a procession taken out on the chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA).

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