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Tuesday March 19, 2024

People suffer as mobile service suspended for hours

By Our Correspondent
March 22, 2019

Islamabad : The mobile phone service remained suspended for hours in the daytime in most parts of Islamabad on Thursday as part of the security plan for the full-dress rehearsal for March 23 Pakistan Day parade in Shakarparian area near Sector I-8.

An official of the local administration said the mobile phone service was suspended within the 10-kilometer radius of the Parade Ground.

He said the service was restored in the evening.

Though announced beforehand, the suspension of mobile phone service caught many residents completely off guard to their misery as they remained cut off from the telecom services from morning to evening.

Stringent security checks were in place with the police and Rangers patrolling the roads, especially in key areas.

Aslam Saleem of I-9/4 complained that the cellphone service in his area remained suspended from the early hours of the day to the evening to his frustration.

Shamim Jehan of G-6/4 protested the denial of access to mobile service and said she didn’t have landline phone service and therefore, she remained cut off from the relatives for long hours.

She said the people facing emergency situations suffered the most from telecom outages.

The motorists, motorcyclists, and commuters also complained of detours to reach destinations in the city due to the diversion of traffic from major roads. There is a greater likelihood of the mobile phone suspension on March 23 as well.