The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Wednesday ordered Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan and Balochistan Advocate General (AG) Adnan Basharat to file their replies on the shutdown of internet services in the province.

Last week, mobile data services in the province were announced to be suspended until August 31 over “security reasons”. At the same time, a shutdown of internet services was also reported as former Balochistan chief minister Dr Abdul Malik on Saturday expressed concern over the law and order situation, adding that internet services had not been available in the province for more than a month.

A notification issued by the Balochistan Home Department on August 6 cited the “peculiar law and order situation” in the province as a cause for the suspension.

A constitutional petition was filed against the internet shutdown by Khair Muhammad Shaheen, chairman of Balochistan’s Consumer Civil Society, against the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). A two-member bench comprising BHC Chief Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Sardar Ahmad Haleemi conducted a hearing over the matter today.

According to the court order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the chairman contended that the cell phone was a basic mode of communication for businessmen, students, educational institutions and others but the government had suspended mobile network and internet services throughout the province “without any plausible justification”, which was negatively impacting children’s education and business activities.

Shaheen said the indefinite suspension constituted a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 9 (security of person), 15 (freedom of movement etc), 18 (freedom of trade, business and profession), 19-A (right to information) and 25 (equality of citizens) of the Constitution.

The petition also added that inter-district and inter-provincial bus services were suspended, due to which the public was “suffering”.

“The contentions so raised require consideration,” the order said. The bench ordered that notices be issued to the respondents, AGP Awan and AG Basharat to file their responses before the next hearing on Friday.

It added that in case of a failure to do so, the secretaries of the interior and information technology ministries were to appear in person on that date.

In November last year, the PTA had announced the government’s decision to suspend internet and mobile services with immediate effect in many districts of Balochistan to ensure public safety, in the wake of terrorist attacks in the province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.