ISLAMABAD: In a bid to “maintain law and order” situation amid the ongoing general elections across the country, the government has suspended mobile phone services nationwide, an Interior Ministry spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
“It has been decided to temporarily suspend the mobile service across the country,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesman said “precious lives have been lost” in recent militant attacks in Pakistan and “security measures are essential to maintain law and order situation and to deal with potential threats”.
AFP journalists in the capital Islamabad could not access mobile internet services as polls opened at 8:00am, while there were also reports of poor access in the southern city of Karachi.
At least 26 people were killed in twin bomb blasts outside candidates’ offices in Balochistan on Wednesday.
