ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will suspend mobile phone SIMs of users who have not renewed their expired Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC).
As per a statement from the authority issued by PTA, SIMs of users with cards that expired before 2017 will be suspended.
The statement follows the PTA’s initiation of the second phase of its operation against illegal SIMs nationwide. “SIMs of those whose ID cards expired before 2017 and have not been renewed will be suspended.”
The authority has urged users to renew their identity cards to avoid having their SIMs blocked. It should be noted that in the first phase of the operation, the PTA blocked fake SIMs and canceled CNICs of citizens.
“Since August 16, more than 69,000 illegal SIMs have been blocked,” the statement read, adding that the illegal SIMs are being blocked on the basis of data obtained from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).
Meanwhile, the authority will terminate SIMs registered in the names of deceased persons during the third phase. Before blocking mobile SIMs, users received messages asking them to update their information.
The PTA’s statement said that fake SIMs are being used in various illegal activities, including terrorism, financial scams, and other crimes.
In the past three and a half years, the authority has blocked over 363,000 URLs for illegal content.
From January 2021 to June 2024, the category of defamatory or impersonating content had the lowest blocking rate. Social media platforms blocked 307,610 of these URLs. The overall blocking rate is 84.72%.
The PTA is acting on 2,480 URLs related to contempt of court. Social media platforms have blocked 1,496 of these, with a blocking rate of 60.32%. The rate of blocking content related to security and defense is a bit higher.
The PTA reviewed 10,1682 URLs, blocking 74,224 of them, resulting in a blocking rate of 73%. It took action on 6,853 URLs in the miscellaneous content category and on social media platforms, blocking 5,621 of these.
