Blockage of 7.5m SIM cards issued on fake papers ordered

* Cellular companies failing to complete task by May 22 will be fined up to Rs 350 million

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Saturday set a May 22 deadline for cellular phone companies to block over 7.45 million Subscriber Information Module (SIM) cards issued on fictitious documents.

The meeting, chaired by committee chairman Talha Mahmood, was held at Parliament House. Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) was directed to impose a fine up to Rs 350 million on cellular companies who did not complete the task within the stipulated time and cancel their licences if necessary. Mahmood said the sub-committee had asked cellular phone companies to get information of the SIM cards holders verified by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) by June 30.

Mehmood said no cellular company was allowed to issue more than 10 SIM cards to an individual but hundreds of SIM cards had been issued to one person. He said companies should not activate the SIM card without verifying its holder’s record.

He said a four-member committee, consisting of the Interior secretary and officials of the IT and Telecom ministry, NADRA and PTA, would establish a code of conduct for cellular phone companies in this regard.

Mahmood also said he would consult the committee for moving a privilege motion in the Senate against the cellular companies which had refused to provide them with their audit reports.

He said the committee was authorised to seek and review audit reports of the cellular companies. Also experts will be consulted to assess whether these companies had made any substantial investment in the country or if they were only concerned with making money.

Senators Raziq Khan, Gulshan Saeed, Saadia Abbasi, Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Interior Secretary Kamal Shah, NADRA Chairman Saleem Moeen and PTA Chairman Shahzada Alam also attended the meeting