Mobile phone communication has greatly facilitated the public in daily correspondence at affordable rates. But problems of varying nature relating mobile communication are increasing in incidence in the country. From family hassles to traffic regulations, cell phones are disrupting the normal life in many parts of the country.

From early morning to late in the night, the mobile phone mania keeps ringing with and outside of the university campus in Peshawar. Students love to use it as an entertaining device for the music it can store and playback. The once peaceful breakfast tables in campus canteens now vibrate with the cacophony of uninvited music and weird tones, instantiating the 21st century version of noise pollution. The sidewalk and public transport are no exception. Only in places like the court of law and classroom, where people are ordered to switch off their cell phones prior to entering, is there some relief from the reach of cell phone noise.

A problem of growing concern for many parents and guardians of young folk is the use for cell phones for virtually unceasing sessions of amorous chat with other young people of the opposite sex. In some cases, it leads to life-threatening incidents. In Hangu, for example, the ‘accidental shooting’ of a girl in her late 20s by her brother was attributed to an honor killing after rumors of the girl’s mobile phone chat with a stranger guy. More recently, a news paper report from Lahore informed of a 20-year-old girl’s suicide attempt through poisoning herself after her parents seized her cell phone to stop her from chatting with her lover.

The use of cell phones during driving remains another threat to life (and property) as the number of accidents is on a rise, especially in big cities, due to the interruption of cell phone correspondence in the driver’s attention. In Lahore, the City Traffic Police has enforced a ban on using cell phones during driving in public. However, citizens are not at all happy with the rule as some of them argue that cell phones should be allowed during travel in order to deal with emergencies and urgent calls relating family and workplace.

It is worth mentioning that the boundless popularit of cell phone use in Pakistan, mobile communication services continue to lower thier calling rates and offering special packages that allow hours of talk art very low rates.