The Balochistan government has suspended mobile data services in Quetta district today for 24 hours due to the law and order situation, it emerged on Friday.

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Interior and dated October 30 — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — the Balochistan government requested that the relevant authorities be directed to suspend 3G/4G internet services in Quetta on October 31 (today) for 24 hours.

“Owing to the peculiar law and order situation and threat perceptions, the services of 3G and 4G services are required to be jammed in district Quetta,” the missive said.

In recent months, the security situation in Balochistan has worsened, as militants, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks.

The suspension also comes only two months after mobile data services in the province were suspended in August over “security reasons”. However, on August 21— 16 days into the suspension — the Balochistan High Court (BHC) had ordered the immediate restoration of mobile internet services, leading to the resumption of connectivity in the province.

According to a report published in January, Pakistan was leading the world in terms of financial losses suffered as a result of outages and shutdowns of internet and social media apps last year.

Pakistan topped the charts with a cumulative financial impact of $1.62 billion. This was higher than the cost in countries like Sudan and Myanmar, which are ravaged by civil wars.