KARACHI/LAHORE/HANGU: In a bid to avoid any untoward incident from happening during Muharram 8, 9 and Ashura, there will be a ban on mobile phone service and pillion riding in various parts of the country.
According to Additional Chief Home Secretary Sindh on Tuesday, mobile phone service will remain suspended in eight districts of the province including Karachi on Saturday, 10th Muharram-ul-Haram. He added the ban will remain in place from 9 AM to 10 PM in the Sindh capital on Ashura.
It is however pertinent to mention here that the Sindh government had requested for a ban on mobile phone service on Muharram 8, 9 and 10.
Pillion-riding will also remain prohibited in all sensitive cities and towns of the province, including Karachi, from 12 PM tonight.
According to a notification issued by the provincial Home Ministry, the ban will be imposed from midnight in Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Sanghar, Khairpur, Sukkur and Shikarpur and will remain in place till Muharram 10.
Children, special people, journalists and personnel of law enforcement agencies will however be unaffected from the ban.
Meanwhile, a notification has been issued in Lahore regarding a pillion-riding ban throughout Punjab on Muharram 9 and 10.
According to the Punjab Home Ministry notification, personnel of law enforcement agencies will be immune from the ban.
On the other hand, a ban on pillion-riding will be imposed in Hangu district from Wednesday, Muharram 7 and will last till Ashura on Saturday, October 24.
The ban is being imposed amidst security threats in the area, where according to DPO Shah Nazar Khan, all type of traffic will also be banned from entering the city from tomorrow.
