STAFF REPORT LHR: The telecom authorities have been directed to consult mobile phone operators to block unregistered and illegal SIMs (subscriber identity modules) “before the launch of the Karachi operation”.


Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued these instructions while presiding over a meeting at Raiwind as part of the ongoing consultations to come up with a mechanism to rid the country, especially Karachi, of “anarchic elements”.


The PM underlined the need for blocking of the unregistered SIMs because they were being used by criminals, making it difficult for the law-enforcement agencies to track them down. A few years ago, cellular companies had blocked over 4.5 million SIMs on the instruction of the PTA for lack of ownership verification. At present, there are 4.7m SIMs which have genuine ownership issues. It is to be mentioned here that Presently there are 4.47 million SIMs those have not sent any message to 668 so are considered unverified.

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