The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Monday announced it will suspend the mobile SIMs of people who have not renewed their Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC), adding this is part of the second phase of its operation to stop the illegal use of SIMs nationwide.
“Those whose ID cards have expired before 2017 and have not been renewed, their SIMs will be suspended,” read a statement issued by the PTA. It urged all cellphone users to ensure their CNICs were valid to avoid any suspension of services.
“Since Aug. 16, more than 69,000 illegal SIMs have been blocked,” continued the statement, adding this process was undertaken using data obtained from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). It said the third phase would terminate SIMs registered in the names of deceased persons.
According to the regulator, it has forwarded awareness messages to users directing them to update their relevant data before initiating the blocking of their SIMs.
In its statement, the PTA stressed that fake SIMs were being utilized for various illegal activities, including terrorism and financial fraud.
The PTA also updated its efforts for web management, saying it had blocked over 363,000 URLs with “illegal” content in the past three-and-a-half years. It said from January 2021 to June 2024 social media platforms had blocked 307,610 URLs, with an overall blocking rate of 84.72%.
According to the PTA, it is taking action on 2,480 URLs related to contempt of court, adding social media companies had blocked 1,496 of them. Of 101,682 URLs linked to security and defense, it said, 74,224 were blocked, while 5,621 URLs of 6,853 in the miscellaneous category had also been blocked.
On content against the glory of Islam, the PTA said it had taken action on 46,103 URLs, blocking 37,479 of them. Additionally, it said, of 34,673 URLs examined for sectarianism and hate speech, 28,922 were blocked. The PTA also took action on 158,054 URLs with ‘unethical’ content, having 152,646 of them blocked.