Reasons behind the suspension remain unknown to cellular companies and general public. Trade and business activities could not gain impetus from the early hours of the day, traders said, adding that the government inflicted a loss of at least Rs 1 billion on the national economy by shutting down cell phones. "Businesses remained incommunicado because of the breakdown of the entire cellular network in the city," said President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Haroon Agar. This time around, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) forced cellular companies to switch off their networks without citing any reason to justify the government''''s move, telecom sources said. Expressing concerns, sources in the telecom industry said: "It is still unknown why PTA issued orders for closing cellular services in Karachi. The (cellular) industry suffered a loss of at least Rs 110-120 million on Friday because of the suspension," it said. Feeling insecure in the face of the possibility of terrorism, general public along with traders appealed to the authorities concerned for protecting their "unshielded" constitutional rights.
"We are even unable to communicate with our family members after the government marked Karachi as terror-prone city," people said, adding that the unannounced suspension put people''''s lives at risk. Haroon Agar questioned the government''''s policy of shutting down cellular networks in Karachi, saying: "I think the rulers should ban the use of cell phones instead".
The industrial production remained at a standstill for lack of input supplies in the wake of phones closures while imports and exports suffered were also hit hard, he said. "The suspension of phone services had a huge negative impact on businesses," he added.
"The breakdown of mobile phones networks was unannounced, which left businessmen unprepared to chalk out a strategy to avoid losses and continue their activities," he maintained. The government has banned the use of cellular phone several times this year, industry sources said. However, industry sources said that the government could ban the use of cellular phones under Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organisation) Act under Clause 54 on the National Security.