Over 35m non-verified mobile SIMs circulating in market
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—As many as 35 million non-verified mobile SIMs are still circulating in the market out of a total 81 million issued SIMs, Senate Standing Committee on Interior told here Tuesday.Despite several warnings and notices issued by the government, Parliament Standing Committees and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) the cellular companies and its franchises are issuing non-verified SIMs to consumers.
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator Talha Mehmood told a press conference that PTA seems least interested in regulating such practices which is creating law and order situation in the country.
After presiding over a meeting of Senate body on Interior, Talha told the media persons that due to issuance of non-verified SIMs crimes like kidnapping for ransom have surged in the country.
He said, the Committee expressed great shock when IGP Sindh Dr. Shoaib Suddle informed the Committee that in Karachi an individual got 11,283 SIMs on a single identity card. He said under the law an individual cannot get more then 10 SIMs on a single ID card, but the mobile companies are issuing SIMs for their personal interest and profit while violating all the laws.
Talha said that representatives of mobile companies while concealing the facts informed the Committee that there are 14 million non-verified SIMs, but according to the National Database Registration Authority’s (NADRA) data there are about 35 million non-verified SIMs.
He said the cellular companies have to pay rupees five to ten to NADRA for verification of each ID card, “to save this money the mobile companies don’t bother to verify the ID card.” He said when the Committee asked the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the companies to put their annual audit reports before the Committee they refused.
Talha said the Committee constituted a sub-committee to look into the matter of non-verified SIMs, procedure of SIMs issuance, reasons for non-verification and will give its report within 15 days to the Standing Committee.
Earlier, he said mobilink has so far issued 32 million SIMs, Warid 14 million, Telenor 16 million, Ufone 17 million, Insta Phone 300,000 and ZONG 2 million.
Senator Talha said that under the light of the report to be given by the sub-committee, “We will do legislation to make verification mandatory for mobile phone companies before activating the SIM.”
The Committee will also recommend cancellation of franchise licenses who are issuing non-verified SIMs.
The meeting was attended by Senators Jamal Khan Laghari, Tahira Latif, Gulshan Saeed, Khaliq Pirzada, Sadia Abbasi and Abdur Razaq, besides Secretary Interior Syed Kamal Shah, PTA Chairman, IGPs, Home Secretaries, Provincial Secretaries and CEOs of mobile companies.