ISLAMABAD: Mobile phone services would remain suspended in most cities of the country on Wednesday as part of security arrangements for Yaum-e-Ali being observed today, DawnNews reported.

Mobile phone services would remain blocked in Karachi from six am till 8pm whereas the services would remain suspended till 6 pm in certain areas of Lahore.

Similarly the phone services would also remain suspended in Rawalpindi, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Khairpur, Jhelum, Hyderabad, Multan and Sialkot.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) sources told DawnNews that all mobile phone service providers had already been instructed about suspension of phone services on account of security arrangements for Yaum-e-Ali.

This is the first time that mobile phone services are being blocked after the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) government came into power following the May 11 general elections this year.

Moreover, Chairman of the All-Karachi Tajir Ittehad Atique Mir announced that markets in Karachi would also remain closed until evening in the vicinity of M.A. JInnah road where the Yaum-e-Ali procession is scheduled to pass.