SIM verification: First phase to begin on January 12

People having more than 3 SIMs will have to provide biometric record.

HYDERABAD: The first phase of biometric registration of subscriber identity modules (SIMs) is expected to start from January 12 under which people having more than three SIMs registered against their national identity card will be asked to provide their biometric record by the end of February.

“The process will begin immediately after the federal government approves recommendations of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority,” an official of the Federal Investigation Agency said.

The biometric verification system was introduced in August 2014, therefore, the SIMs registered before the system came into force would have to go through the verification process.

In the wake of December 16 attack on a Peshawar school, the federal government had asked mobile companies to block around 500,000 illegal SIMs.

At a meeting at the DIG Hyderabad office on Tuesday, the regional heads of Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Warid and Zong remained glued to their earlier stance against the government’s move to block illegal SIMs.

“We were earlier told to block all the old SIMs (registered before August 2014). But we told the PTA that an overwhelming number of people are using the SIMs issued under the old system. The move will cause a huge financial loss to the companies,” a company official, who attended the meeting, told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2015.

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