In preparation for upcoming medical entrance exams, authorities in Punjab and Peshawar will enforce mobile and internet service suspensions near exam centers, following directives from the Interior Ministry and provincial authorities.
In Punjab, the government, acting on a recommendation from the Interior Ministry, has directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to cut mobile and internet services within a 500-meter radius of 26 exam centers. The PTA has received the exact coordinates of these locations to implement the suspension. These centers are spread across 12 districts, including Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujrat, and Rahim Yar Khan. The medical entrance exam in Punjab is scheduled for Sunday, September 22.
Similar measures are being taken in Peshawar, where the medical entrance test is also slated for Sunday. A meeting chaired by Prof. Dr. Ziaul Haq, Vice-Chancellor of Khyber Medical University (KMU), included representatives from district administration, police, and other departments to finalize arrangements. Six exam centers have been designated in Peshawar, and stringent security measures will be in place.
To safeguard the integrity of the exams, several personal items—such as mobile phones, watches, calculators, pens, pencils, jewelry, and ATM cards—are banned inside the centers. In addition, mobile phone services around these locations will be suspended.
Each center in Peshawar will be under the supervision of a senior police officer of SP rank, along with an assistant commissioner. Students will undergo a three-stage frisking process, with body searches conducted using metal detectors, and candidates will be subject to biometric verification via NADRA’s system. Only essential items like roll number slips and ID cards will be allowed inside the exam halls.
To further assist candidates, exam centers will provide basic necessities, including bottled water, juice, biscuits, ballpoint pens, and test cards, all of which will be pre-cleared by a special branch team. The KMU Vice-Chancellor, along with other officials, will monitor proceedings from a control room set up at the university to ensure the smooth execution of the exam.
