Mobile, internet services suspended in Lahore

LAHORE: The Punjab home department on Thursday suspended mobile and internet services in various parts of the provincial capital, ARY News reported.

According to details, the cellular phone networks and Internet service suspended due to security concerns in view of the protests by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in the provincial capital.

People said the authorities should have announced in advance to avoid inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of consumers.

It is pertinent to mention here that internet services have been suspended for three days in different areas of the country, including the Baldia Town area of Karachi. The internet service providers said that internet service has been suspended on the directions of PTA.

It may be noted here that the religious party’s protests had disrupted traffic in various cities of the country since Monday after the arrest of their chief Saad Rizvi.

The Federal government on Thursday imposed a ban on the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) under the anti-terrorism act.

A notification was issued by the Ministry of Interior after the federal cabinet approved summary through circular summary.

The notification said the federal government “has reasonable grounds to believe that Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan is engaged in terrorism, acted in a manner prejudicial to the peace and security of the country, involved in creating anarchy in the country by intimidating the public, caused grievous bodily harm, hurt and death to the personnel of Law Enforcement Agencies and innocent by-standers, attacked civilians and officials, created wide-scale hurdles, threatened, abused and promoted hatred, vandalised and ransacked public and government properties including vehicles, and caused arson, blocked essential health supplies to hospitals, and has used, threatened, coerced, intimidated, and overawed the government, the public and created sense of fear and insecurity in the society and the public at large”.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11B(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, the Federal Government is pleased to list Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan in the First Schedule to the said Act as a proscribed organisation for the purposes of the said Act,” it added.