Pak-istan has ordered mobile phone companies to ban cheap, late-night calling rates because they allegedly promote vulgarity am-ong young men and women, officials said on Wednesday.
The Pakistan Telec-ommunication Authority (PTA) said it asked companies to suspend attractive night-time rates in keeping with government policy.
“We have issued the directive to all the mobile telephone companies to shelve night call packages. The step was taken after len-gthy discussions,” PTA spokeswoman Malahat Rab told AFP.
“These directives are issued in the light of the government decisions and this decision has also been taken by the government,” she said.
Members of Parliament also demanded action. “We strongly object to the night phone packages and recommended that the PTA either fix a time limit for this facility or ban it,” said Kalsoom Perveen, who heads the committee in the Upper House of Parliament that made the recommendation. “These packages are not right for our youth,” she said. Shafqat Hayayt Khan, an Opposition legislator who sits on the information technology committee in the lower house, also backed the ban.
“There is no doubt that these cheap night call rates packages are promoting vulgarity. We will make the PTA implement this decision,” he said.
Pakistan is no stranger to clamping down on phone and Internet services.
Mobile networks have been shut down to prevent militant attacks and Pak-istan has since mid-Sept-ember blocked access to YouTube to protest against the American film Inn-ocence of Muslims.