﻿ Pakistani police decrees mobile ban on New Year's Eve | ZDNet

Pakistani police decrees mobile ban on New Year's Eve

Summary: Karachi residents will not have mobile services for a 12-hour window, as the police tries to prevent a planned terrorist attack on the city.

Pakistani police will impose a ban on mobile phone services in Karachi on New Year's Eve to safeguard residents' lives and property following reports of a planned terrorist attack on the city.

The Express Tribune reported Sunday the police will initiate the city-wide ban from 5 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2012, to 5 a.m on Jan. 1, 2013. Carrying and firing of firearms are also prohibited, said Imran Shaukat, police spokesperson for Sindh. Karachi is the capital of the province of Sindh as well as the largest city in Pakistan.

Imran pointed out these measures would ensure the security of citizens' lives and property. Karachi residents should inform police of any violations and their names would be kept confidential, he added.

Sindh Inspector General of Police Fayyaz Ahmed Leghari said in a statement Saturday that all police departments need to create a comprehensive joint strategy to maintain law and order in the province on New Year's Eve, the report noted.

Last Friday the government of Karachi suddenly suspended mobile phone services for eight hours due to intelligence reports of a terrorist plan to carry out widespread target killings and trigger remote-controlled explosions, sources from the Sindh Home Ministry said in a Times of India report.

Mobile services were suspended between 10.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., and marked the fourth time this year that the Karachi government suspended cellular services.

Topics: Telcos, Government Asia, Mobility, Security

Jamie Yap

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  • Gee, from a country that willingly harbors terrorists, now they fear them?

    Looks to me like they're getting what they paid for, and sheltering a generation of vipers will have no good outcome. Payback is a binch! Happy New Year, Pakistan! You probably won't need to pay for the fireworks this time, as your progeny will provide all the loud bangs, flames and smoke you could have ever asked for. I'll bet they won't target any of their madrassas.
    • That's the problem

      The county's always been at war with itself as half wants to move into the 21st century, while the other half wants to blow up it's enemies and anyone who doesn't side with them, back into the stone age.
      Challenger R/T
  • Potential unrest, turn off cell phones????

    The more people that have them on and running, the more that can document the event, and the more that can call the police for help. If phrased that way, could it not be a deterrent to the scofflaws if everyone was encouraged to carry their phones and video record any little incident?
  • Ban

    Just ban Islam.
    Done deal.
    • Islam isn't the problem.

      Its the people who think that they have the right to force there Views and sense of "Morality" onto other people(including there own family). If you think of it this way you will see that Islam is in no way unique and that in fact people from every Religion are contributing to the problem (including most Politicians).