Peshawar High Court Seeks Report from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Over Mobile Signal Disruption at Courts
Peshawar, August 27, 2026 (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News) – The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has requested a report from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government regarding a petition challenging poor mobile phone and internet signals within the premises of the High Court and district courts.
A bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Babar Sattar heard the petition. During the hearing, High Court Bar Association President Amin-ur-Rehman Yousafzai, Advocate, informed the court that lawyers and litigants were encountering persistent mobile connectivity issues at the High Court and district courts, despite repeated meetings and contacts with the relevant authorities.
Peshawar Bar Association President Qaiser Zaman, Advocate, assured the court that lawyers had not gone on strike over the matter.
Justice Ijaz Anwar expressed concern over the unavailability of mobile and internet signals at Race Course Garden, questioning why mobile services were disrupted across the city whenever a procession or event occurred.
Deputy Secretary Home Department Fazal Qayyum explained to the court that a survey had been conducted after consultations with all stakeholders. He stated that signals were temporarily disrupted during the survey, but there was no complete blackout. He added that mobile operators had explained that stronger signals required more power consumption.
Counsel for the mobile companies, Farooq Afridi, clarified that power consumption was not the primary issue, attributing the signal disruptions to jammers installed at the nearby jail.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that reducing the intensity of the jail jammers could enhance mobile connectivity.
Justice Ijaz Anwar observed that if high-profile prisoners were being held in the jail, separate arrangements should be made for them. The court also inquired about who was providing mobile phones to prisoners, directing that this aspect should also be investigated.
The court observed that the lack of mobile signals was causing inconvenience to the general public, especially those visiting courts who were unable to contact their lawyers.
Additional Advocate General Bilal Khan Khalil informed the court that a meeting on the issue had already been held on August 17 and a report would be submitted at the subsequent hearing.
Justice Ijaz Anwar instructed the authorities to resolve the issue, noting that the public was suffering due to it. The court directed the provincial government to submit a report and stated that the case would be thoroughly examined at the next hearing before a decision was made.
