The government has announced to immediately block all SIM cards registered with expired identity cards, with all connections related to CNICs issued in 2017 or earlier being deactivated in the first phase.
In following phases, the policy will be expanded to include SIM cards registered against revoked CNICs issued after 2017.
The decision was reached during a high-level meeting led by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) headquarters in Islamabad.
The meeting, which included Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and senior Nadra officials, also decided that only SIMs registered with active identity cards would be valid.
The Nadra chairman informed the officials about the organization’s progress in expanding access, improving service delivery, and fostering digital transformation.
The conference was informed that 87 new registration centers and 417 additional counters had been established across the country, and that the federal government had authorized significant changes to the National Identity Card Rules of 2002.
The Nadra chairman noted that the facial recognition system will help people who struggle with fingerprint verification.
He stated that SIM cards registered to deceased individuals or with expired identity cards would be blocked immediately.
The Nadra chief highlighted that people’s biometric information is safely held in local databases. He warned that this data is still vulnerable to misuse and theft, and urged people to use Nadra’s secure and approved facial recognition databases.
While speaking at the meeting, Naqvi, who works closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claimed that Nadra services have been expanded to 44 tehsils and union councils that were previously unavailable. All 31 union councils in Islamabad are expected to have Nadra services by June 30, he said.
Furthermore, the minister mandated that linked agencies stop keeping separate biometric data and begin using facial recognition technology across the country by December 31, 2025. He indicated that the Ministry of the Interior will oversee the procedure.
Naqvi also lay the groundwork for the 10-story Nadra Mega Centre in Sector I-8 in Islamabad. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in June 2026.
