Previously, Federal Minister for Interior Mr.Rehman Malik highlighted the hamper of un-verified SIM cards and mobile phones carrying same IMEIs. We took it as an additional but normal political statement and we moved ahead. But now things are tuning serious. A sophisticated meeting of heads of cellular companies was presided over by Mr.Rahman Malik while Chairman PTA, Provincial Home Secretaries, Federal Secretary Interior, Chief Commissioner and IGP Islamabad and representatives of intelligence agencies and FIA were also a part of the meeting.

The reunion was held between all the stake holders to concentrate on two major issues of the telecom and mobile sector from which one issue was pointed out to solve and stop illegal handsets being imported to Pakistan and how to deal with the issues which are already in Pakistan (the major: Multiple sim cards registered under one CNIC). The following decisions were taken during the reunion:

·        Issue one SIM card against one CNIC (and block all other SIMs)

·        All prepaid Sims should be verified with in 30 days.

·        Sims with IMEI numbers need to be synchronized with the help of service provider and NADRA.Service provider will send the detail of tempered numbers through SMS to the consumer.

·        The Minister asked the entire service provider to identify all those consumers holding the sets with duplicate/multiple IMEI against one SIM within 10 days and inform the consumer accordingly.

·        All the cellular companies are to advise their contract customers to re-verify their IDs/SIMs again

·        No body will be able to import mobile phone without authorization of PTA.PTA will issues license of importing phones after doing due diligence.

·        PTA will issue standards/specifications of cellular phone to be imported.

·        The importers have to submit specifications, IMEI number of cellular phones and sets to PTA before getting import license.FBR has been advised not clear any consignment without PTA authorization.

Rahman Malik has represented a sophisticated board led by PTA chairman as well as agents from all five service providers from private segment, an associate from FIA and intelligence agencies.

He further instructed (strictly to follow) that with instant result no mobile SIM cards should be issued to the buyer then and there, as it should be posted on their residential address after compulsory authentication from NADRA.

Evidently, these are not reasonable demands, not to forget to mention the one SIM per one CNIC subject. As a matter of fact cellular companies are not pleased about the decision being made. Actually they don’t want to execute it in any way, which makes logic, since Mr. Malik’s bizarre aspiration has popped-out when cellular companies have more than 100 million subscribers.

On the other hand cellular companies do give value to the nationalsecurity matter, however they alleged such policy were to be implemented 10 years back instead of brining it now.

Cellular companies promptly have exposed their uncertainties and planned a meeting where the specialists and technical staff from interior ministry and telecom companies should be asked for to take part (necessarily) in the discussion to find substitutemeans to kill out this issue.

Moreover, if this order is implemented a large number of telecom subscribers (about 40-45 million) may quit. Probabilities are that cellular companies may step in the court to deal with if in case it takes place.