ISLAMABAD: Internet and mobile phone services will remain suspended in major cities across Pakistan on Tuesday as part of security measures in place for the chehlum or religious procession to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.
Authorities in Pakistan have beefed up security arrangements for the day, given the history of sectarian violence on such occasions in the country, with hospitals placed on standby to deal with any untoward incidents.
The Ministry of Interior said it had instructed the suspension of GPRS facilities and Internet and cellular phone services upon the requests of the four provincial governments and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) administration. The services, however, will be operational as usual in Islamabad.
A number of cities from the Punjab province will be impacted by the suspension, including Lahore, Nankana, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Narowal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Sargodha, Khushab, Toba Tek Singh, Multan, Sahiwal, Okara, Pakpattan and Rahim Yar Khan.
Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan and parts of AJK including Bagh, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Haveli, and Kotli will also have the said services disconnected during the day, while in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Nowshera, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan and Abbottabad districts will be impacted.
Other cities to be affected include Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jaccobabad, Khairpur, Larkana, and Shikarpur in Sindh which will be devoid of these facilities, according to a notification by the provincial home department.
Government pulls the plug on Internet and mobile phone services
Government pulls the plug on Internet and mobile phone services
- Measures in place in major Pakistani cities to ensure security for religious procession
- Interior Ministry orders suspension of network on request of all four provincial governments
Death toll in Pakistan wedding suicide blast rises to six
- Attack targeted members of local peace committee in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: The death toll from a suicide bombing at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan rose to six, police said on Saturday, after funeral prayers were held for those killed in the attack a day earlier.
The bomber detonated explosives during a wedding gathering in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring more than a dozen, some of them critically.
“The death toll has surged to six,” said Nawab Khan, Superintendent of Police for Saddar Dera Ismail Khan. “Police have completed the formalities and registered the case against unidentified attackers.”
“It was a suicide attack and the Counter Terrorism Department will further investigate the case,” he continued, adding that security had been stepped up across the district to prevent further incidents.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Khan cautioned against speculation, citing ongoing militancy in the area, and said the investigation was being treated with “utmost seriousness.”
The explosion targeted the home of a member of a local peace committee, which is part of community-based groups that cooperate with security forces and whose members have frequently been targeted by militants in the past.
Some media reports also cited a death toll of seven, quoting police authorities.
Emergency officials said several of the wounded were taken to hospital soon after the blast.
Militant attacks have intensified in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghan authorities of “facilitating” cross-border assaults, a charge Kabul denies.
