This study numerically scrutinizes the boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting and viscous dissipative fluid past an impulsively started permeable vertical cylinder together with thermal radiation. The solutions of the governing problem are accomplished using the Crank-Nicholson scheme. The impressions of pertinent parameters on the flow patterns of the fluid particles as well as on the velocity, temperature, and distributed regions are captured and visualized three-dimensionally. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.