PTA sets April 12 deadline for SIM verification

Extends period for unblocking SIMs to six months

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) has announced that unverified mobile phone SIMs will be blocked after April 12; however, it has also extended the period – during which a blocked SIM can be unblocked – from two months to six months.

Addressing a news conference on Saturday, PTA chairman Dr Ismail Shah said some 70.5 million SIMs were already verified against 54 million CNICs through the biometric verification system, while 11 million SIMs had been blocked.

In reply to a question, the PTA chairman said intelligence agencies had not shared details of the SIMs used in December 16 terrorist attack on schoolchildren in Peshawar. “[Apparently] investigation sensitivities are involved in the process,” he added.

He also announced that government has decided to suspend mobile phone services in Islamabad on the March 23, when a parade will be held in the federal capital in connection with Pakistan Day.

“We are just supposed to implement the orders [to suspend the services], as sensitive and security issues are involved,” he said, when asked why the services were being suspended.

Commending the role of cellular companies, Dr Shah said they have spent tens of millions of dollars during the SIMs verification process.

“In a bid to support the government in countering terrorism, the telecom industry deployed 15,000 new biometric machines for the SIM re-verification drive in addition to 65,000, which were deployed earlier by all five operators.”

The PTA chief said once the process of SIMs verification completes, the authority, along with cellular companies, will also approach the apex court to seeking removal of certain restrictions on cellular companies, including the restriction on every individual to keep only five SIMs.

He also offered services of the PTA to cellular companies, stating that a marketing plan will be chalked out for them to overcome the business losses which occur during the verification process.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2015.