THIS refers to the order of suspension of cellular networks by the government on the eve of Eidul Fitr and on Sept 21.

As a layman, it doesn’t really make sense to me why the government halted the services. Though the government claimed it was done to control terrorist activities, I wonder if it was the last of all resorts.

However, what surprises me is that the government is accepting the fact that such acts can result in bigger disasters which include kidnapping cases and emergency situations where need of mobile phone becomes inevitable.

On the eve of Eid, I witnessed how difficult it had become for the ambulance services and similar institutions working in emergency situations when they were stranded and so was the public. I fear many must have died in wait of an ambulance.

Also, one of the things that we cannot overlook is the tracking companies which are entirely dependent on GSM service providers. Such actions by the government put thousands of tracker-equipped vehicles at risk along with their owners in case they get stuck in far-flung areas or their vehicles get snatched/stolen.

I request the authorities concerned to make a strategy that would prevent such incidents from happening if they feel that suspension of GSM services is inevitable.

I am sure there must be some remedy for this which experts can come up with.

M. HARIS ZOHAIBKarachi