The official said raids were being conducted to arrest the absconding owner of the franchise. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE: Police and intelligence agencies claimed on Saturday to have arrested a man wanted for issuing SIMs that had been used in the Peshawar carnage.
An official of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) told The Express Tribune that Attique, a manager at a franchise of a cellular company in Gulberg area, had issued SIMs used in the December 16 terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar.
He said he had taken the thumb impressions of people more than once at a biometric machine after telling them that the machine had failed to recognise the impressions.
The official said he had issued several SIMs after obtaining the impressions. He said Attique had confessed to doing this during interrogation.
The official said he had obtained the impressions and issued the SIMs at the behest of the franchise owner. He said the SIMs had been sent to Hasilpur. Later they had been used in the Peshawar carnage.
The official said Attique had been arrested after four suspects nabbed from Hasilpur in connection with the massacre on December 20 by intelligence agencies had revealed information during interrogation.
The official said raids were being conducted to arrest the absconding owner of the franchise.
Another official told The Express Tribune that it had been established that the SIMs had been issued by the franchise. He said it had not been ascertained whether or not the suspects had abetted the massacre and were cognisant of the plan.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2015.
COMMENTS (4)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
If this is so then mobile companies have to set the criteria to issue the SIMs and first mobile companies have to make obligatory to submit the every user's character certificate from the police station before issuing SIM card.No any retailers/franchisees know that who is purchasing the SIM because thumb impression,recently launched,is not the guarantee that user will not misuse his/her number and till now most of the users in Pakistan are not using SIMs registered on their own names and the steps government is taking now had to be taken before now when mobiles' companies launched their services in Pakistan....
Some time back a programme aired on one of the channels showed how people obtained CNIC numbers from the voters and activated SIMS. This was done to reach the required target of selling the maximum number of SIMs of the mobile company. There should also be a system whereby the SIM can only be charged after entering the valid CNIC number. Especially individual SIMs.
Arrest him and give him exemplary punishment.
Great work by law enforcement agencies. Hunt every single person who providing the feed to this animals and bring them to justice.