Pakistani authorities cut mobile phones in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday as the country's sacked Chief Justice addressed a meeting of lawyers by telephone, witnesses and officials said.
Top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was ousted by President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday after the declaration of a state of emergency, urged lawyers to hold protests in a speech also broadcast on private television.
After a few minutes the line that the judge was speaking over was cut and mobile phones in the capital went dead, AFP correspondents and witnesses said.
"I want lawyers to spread my message, the time for sacrifice has come and to stand up for the constitution," Chaudhry said in his speech. The sound of cheering could be heard in the background.
"Tell people about this illegal and unconstitutional emergency." A telecommunications official said the shutdown was temporary. "The government has closed the mobile service in some sectors (of Islamabad) and they have said it was just a temporary measure," the official said on condition of anonymity.
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