ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has ruled out the possibility of mobile phone services being shut on Eid, DawnNews reported.

Nisar said that phone services will not be shut because it would cause difficulties for the masses. The Punjab government had made a request to shut mobile services for security reasons.

The interior minister had said that bomb attacks cannot be stopped by simply shutting down phone services.

Nisar also said that the police and security agencies will do the utmost to fulfill their responsibilities.

The federal government had blocked mobile phone services as part of security arrangements for Yaum-e-Ali.

This was the first time the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) govt took such measures since coming into power following the May 11 general elections.

Mobile services had been shut down during Eid during the previous government as well.

In recent years, former interior minister Rehman Malik had given the go ahead to shut services citing security concerns and fears that terrorists would use mobile phones while plotting to carry out attacks.