Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Thursday that there is danger of large scale acts of terrorism during Muharram as foreign forces have prepared a conspiracy for Shia-Sunni violence.
Talking to media persons here, after chairing a meeting that reviewed arrangements for maintenance of peace during Muharram, the Interior Minister said provinces have been given task to foil such attempts who have in return given lists of sensitive areas. He said mobile phone services would be suspended in sensitive areas during Muharram to maintain peace and order. He said those passing nights in Mosques and Imambargahs would have to inform the nearest police stations about their stay.
He said security threats have been received about acts of terrorism during Muharram but those could not be made public. He said third force was active to begin sectarian violence.  He appealed both the schools of thought to foil the conspiracies of the enemies. “Helicopters and CCTV cameras will be used during Muharram,” Malik said.
He said video sharing website Youtube would be opened after removing blasphemous contents.
The Interior Minister said from December 1, mobile phone SIMs would not be available at shops and could only be purchased from authorized dealers.
Malik said that a ban has been imposed on changing of one company’s SIM to another.  He said Satellite telephone is being misused and mostly it is being used by the terrorists.  In future no one would be able to sell satellite phone without registration with PTA.
Commenting on the attack on Malala Yousafzai, the minister said that investigators were close to catching her attackers however it was not clear which Taliban group had attacked her.
He appealed President Obama to announce an end to drone attacks before taking over his second term in office.