The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked 163,200 SIMs found to be illegal in the country-wide mass campaign targeting unregistered and incorrectly issued cellular connections.
The crackdown drive, according to official records, is intended to block fraud, identity theft, and criminal activity using mobile networks.
The move is part of an expanded campaign that brings together high-technology biometric verification systems with tough enforcement and monitoring processes.
PTA has permanently blocked more than 6.43 million dormant SIMs, confirming the scale of the operation.
It has also blocked 171,000 SIMs registered to non-KP women in the Newly Merged Districts and deactivated 2.98 million active SIMs still issued under the CNICs of deceased individuals.
The authorities also blocked 69,246 SIMs associated with revoked CNICs as well as 783,011 SIMs related to 360,717 lapsed CNICs, showing a targeted clean-up of abnormal mobile records.
As part of its enforcement plan, the PTA carried out 62 targeted raids in different regions, leading to the arrest of 72 suspects purportedly engaged in illegal SIM registration networks.
The raids saw enforcement agencies confiscate 193 illegal Biometric Verification System devices, 11,470 physical SIM cards, and a digital stash of 296,060 imitated fingerprints, used to circumvent biometric verification processes.
To further regulate the SIM registration process, the PTA has implemented a Multi-Finger Biometric Verification System with a 3-Factor Authentication system. This system functions on a network of 185,000 live finger identification devices SIM the nation.
PTA has also put in place tighter operational controls, including enhanced buffer times between SIM sales and a total ban on SIM issuance to authorized service centers and franchises, effectively shutting down unauthorized retailers.
