Karachi: Alarmed by the recent terror attacks on Shia processions by Taliban, Pakistan on Friday shut down the mobile phone network in Karachi, Quetta and some other cities as a part of security measures for this weekend, which is the climax of the holy month of Muharram.
Mobile phone services and even wireless phone networks of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority were suspended since 1 pm on Friday in Karachi, Quetta and some other parts of the country including two sectors in capital Islamabad.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik also announced more curbs for Saturday and Sunday, the 9th and 10th of Muharram, saying that they had also received requests from the Punjab province to suspend mobile phone services in 14 major cities and towns including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan.
The 9th and 10th of Muharram mark a key event in the Islamic religious calendar particularly for Shias. The suspension of the cellular services came after bomb blasts in Karachi and Rawalpindi aimed at Shia Imambargah's and a Muharram procession this week which left at least 25 people dead and several injured. This is the fifth time in 2012 that the government has opted to suspend mobile services because of security measures....
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06:48 PM, Nov 23, 2012
