Senate Standing Committee on Interior has asked the cellular-phone companies to submit the data of the 5.06 million unregistered blocked mobile SIMs to the committee within 15 days for counter-check.
The mobile-phone companies have responded to the deadline given by the committee regarding the deactivation of 7.454 million unauthorised SIMs and the committee was informed that 5.06 million SIMs had been blocked so far, said Chairman of the Committee Senator Muhammad Talha Mehmood while briefing the media here on Saturday.
"We had given them deadline of May 22, to block 7.454 million unauthorised SIMs or face a fine of Rs 350 million each and they, in response, have blocked 5.06 million SIMs so far and we have extended the deadline till June 30", Talha Mehmood said.
He dispelled the impression that any legal check on cell-phone companies would not discourage the foreign investment in Pakistan, but streamline the services and help remove anomalies. He said: "Every multi-national company abide by laws of the land where they invest and operate then why not in Pakistan. This is totally incorrect that any check and balance discourage the foreign investors," he added.
Giving a break-up of the 5.06 million blocked mobile SIMs, Senator Talha said that Ufone had major share in unauthorised SIMs and it had blocked 2.389 million SIMs followed by Mobilink with 1.86 million, Warid 0.5017 million, Zong (CMPak) 195,000 and Telenor 110,000 SIMs.
Talha said that the committee had asked the companies to make sure the reopening of 30 closed franchises in different cities. Pakistan was facing unemployment and closure of franchises would further render people jobless, he said, and asked the companies to streamline their system of franchises and not to give them any inflated target. He said that mobile-phone companies had started the online registration of SIMs under which they sought the data of the subscriber, including CNIC number through SMS and then verify it from Nadra.
He said that the dealer of franchise would get data from the company after it got clearance from PTA. The PTA contact Nadra for final clearance and this process took few minutes, he added. He said the cell-phone companies were directed not to activate any SIM without proper verification from the Nadra. This, he said, would help eradicate various crimes and social evils. He said that software would be developed to monitor the issuance of multiple SIMs issued in the same name.
It may be recalled that the Senate Standing Committee had directed the PTA to impose Rs 350 million fine on each mobile company, if they failed in deactivating 7.454 million unauthorised SIMs by May 22.