ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has successfully shut down more than 163,200 unauthorized SIM cards nationwide.
According to official records, the PTA has permanently deactivated approximately 6.43 million inactive SIMs as part of its ongoing campaign against illegal and counterfeit connections in Islamabad alone. Moreover, over 2.98 million SIMs linked to deceased individuals’ CNICs have been blocked to curb unauthorized usage. The authority also took action against 171 SIMs registered under names of unrelated women in various districts and canceled 69,246 SIMs associated with invalid CNICs.
In addition, around 783,000 SIMs connected to over 360,000 expired identity documents have been disabled. The PTA has stepped up its efforts to combat illegal SIM sales, conducting 62 raids across the country, which led to the arrest of 72 individuals involved in the illegal trade.During these operations, authorities confiscated 193 illegal biometric devices and 11,470 SIM cards. The crackdown also resulted in the seizure of more than 296,000 digital fingerprints linked to fraudulent biometric data. To enhance verification processes, PTA has implemented a new multi-finger biometric authentication system and deployed over 185,000 live fingerprint devices across service centers nationwide.To prevent unauthorized sales, only verified retail outlets are now authorized to sell SIM cards, and the PTA has tightened regulations by increasing the mandatory waiting period for purchasing new SIMs.
In a related move, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has decided to immediately block SIMs issued using expired or fraudulent CNICs. This decision was made during a high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at NADRA Headquarters. Under this directive, all SIMs linked to CNICs that expired in 2017 or earlier will be deactivated in the initial phase. Subsequent phases will see the blocking of SIMs issued on canceled CNICs after 2017, as part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal mobile connections.
