RAWALPINDI: Residents of the garrison city will have to remain confined to their homes over the weekend as the Punjab government imposed a curfew in the city and suspended mobile service.

The curfew was imposed following the sectarian clash on Friday in main Raja Bazaar which left nine people dead and almost 60 injured.

On Saturday, police and army personnel continued to patrol the roads, wile markets, shops and civic centres remained closed.

The authorities relaxed the curfew for half an hour (6:00 pm to 6:30 pm) and late in night from 9:00pm onwards, but there was no respite for the residents.

The curfew was relaxed so that residents could purchase their grocery, but there was no use.

“From where are we supposed to buy? All the shops are closed even when the curfew timing was relaxed,” Sajid Abbas, a resident of Naya Mohallah, told Dawn.

He said his family would have to spend the weekend in the house, adding that Rawalpindi was a peaceful city and for the past 30 years, he had never witnessed an event like that which occurred on Friday.

“Why are we suffering?” asked Khalid Hussain, a resident of Mohanpura. He maintained the curfew was imposed late night and his family could not even go on the roof as gunshots could be heard even on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the residents were also unable to stock the necessary food items before the curfew was imposed.

“The milk had finished and it was difficult to go out and purchase it for my two-year-old son. I borrowed powdered milk from my neighbours to feed him,” said Javed Iqbal, a resident of Usmanpura near Bara Market.

Similarly, Mohammad Akram, a resident of Peshawar Road, said his stock of edibles would end within two days if the curfew continued.

“Mobile phones remained off and we had no option but to spend the day watching news or sleeping,” he added.

Markets remained closed even when the curfew was relaxed as traders dealing in edibles maintained they would open the shops once the curfew ended.

Even the areas away from the troubled Raja Bazaar witnessed no commercial activities on Saturday, but some streets in these areas became cricket grounds for children and youngsters who had arrived to kill time.

However, government officials, whose holidays were canceled for the anti-dengue campaign, were happy they did not have to turn up at their offices since all the roads were closed.

“The chief minister had canceled our holidays but the curfew has limited our movement. Mobile service also remained suspended and we did not go to the office,” said a government employee.

No mobile service in Pindi and Islamabad

Media reports on Saturday night maintained that the Punjab government had requested the Ministry of Interior to suspend cellular service in Rawalpindi on Sunday as well.

A senior official of a private cellular company told Dawn that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had instructed all cellular companies to suspend service in Rawalpindi till November 16 (Saturday).

However, late Saturday night, the PTA conveyed fresh instructions for the suspension of service for another day, he maintained.

Rawalpindi on Sunday until further notice. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, the service will remain closed from 1:00am till Sunday afternoon,” he added.

The PTA has officially maintained that the decisions regarding the suspension of network were taken by the Ministry of Interior and then passed down to the regulatory body.

Urging not to be quoted, an official of the Interior ministry said the law and order had deteriorated beyond expectation. It made sense to suspend mobile service on Ashura because bombs could be triggered using cell phones, he added.

“It also helps prevent a mob from gathering at half an hour notice,” said the official, stating that although curfew was in place, necessary precautions were being taken to keep the situation under control.

The official said the Punjab government had requested the interior ministry to shutdown the service but it was not confirmed how long the network would remain suspended.

Despite repeated attempts, the official version of the interior ministry was not available.