Pakistan suspends mobile phone service in 58 cities

Pakistan suspended mobile phone services for a day Friday in 58 cities, including Lahore and Karachi, as a security measure for Eid Miladun Nabi gatherings and processions, a media report said.

Mobile phone services will stay suspended in major cities of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan's capital Friday, reported Dawn.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Thursday that request for suspension of mobile phone services had been received from three provinces.

Officials said that mobile phone services would remain suspended in 51 cities of Punjab and seven major cities of Sindh from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. while in Quetta the services would be suspended from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The 51 cities in Punjab where mobile phone services will be suspended include Lahore, Multan Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Faisalabad, and Sargodha while the seven cities in Sindh where there will be no mobile service include Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Khairpur.