The Peshawar Bar Association (PBA) has announced an indefinite strike across local courts after persistent disruptions of mobile signals at the Peshawar High Court, Judicial Complex, and adjacent courts, allegedly caused by jammers installed in the nearby central prison.

The decision followed approval from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC), with PBA leaders declaring that lawyers will not appear in court proceedings until the issue is resolved. A joint statement by PBA office-bearers Qaiser Zaman, Zahidullah Zahid, and Imran Khan Yousafzai said the strike would continue until normal mobile service was restored.

Earlier, lawyers staged protests, even locking one of the prison gates leading to the Judicial Complex. The PHC Bar Association also voiced its frustration, with President Aminur Rehman Yousafzai and other representatives noting that repeated attempts over three months had failed to resolve the problem.

The KP Bar Council expressed concern, accusing prison authorities of creating unnecessary hardship for the public by installing the jammers. PBA also announced plans to file a petition in the high court challenging the signal suspensions.

It is worth noting that the Peshawar High Court had already sought a response from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in July to a related petition on mobile disruptions in court premises.