As Pakistan’s political party’s main leaders, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif are expected to arrive in Pakistan today through Lahore airport. The Punjab provincial government has announced that Mobile services will remain suspended in some areas of Lahore to avoid any political unrest and control law & order of the city.
Punjab provincial government has issued a letter to Interior Minister of the Federal government saying that in order to control law and order situation in the province on the arrival of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, mobile phone service will be switched off in different areas of Lahore from 3 pm to 11 pm. As per the notice, the mobile network services will be suspended in areas of Lahore Airport, Walled City Area, Shadra Area, Barki/Hadyara Area and Nawab Town Area.
This is not the first time Mobile phone services are suspended in Pakistan. Previously on numerous accounts, telecom services had been suspended on religious festivals to avoid any mishap or terrorism. Telecom companies lose millions of dollars as a result of these suspensions. In fact, in a legal battle with the telco in Pakistan, High Court had announced that government doesn’t have the authority to suspend cellular services in the name of security from time to time. But the decision was later revised and mobile services remained interrupted in Pakistan in several accounts.
