Peshawar High Court orders action against illegal SIMs

Telcos will have to pay compensation if their SIMs are used in illegal activities. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan ordered action against illegal Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) in the province, Express Newsreported on Tuesday.

He stated that if a company’s SIM is used in terrorism, bomb blasts or any other criminal activities then the company will have to pay the victims compensation.

PHC Chief Justice Khan said selling illegal SIM cards results in the evasion of millions of rupees in taxes and could negatively affect the country’s security. The court could not remain silent on the issue, he added.

There are one million Afghan SIMs in the province that work properly everywhere, the Chief Justice remarked. He requested the KP government to take care of the matter and carry out the necessary investigations.

The PHC took suo motu notice of the illegal sale of mobile SIM cards in the country, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), last Friday. The court directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman, chief executives of cellular companies, K-P chief secretary, K-P advocate general, interior secretary and attorney general of Pakistan to submit a report and appear before the court.

Crackdown on SIMs

Previously, projects have been launched by PTA to regularise SIMs sale procedures which have facilitated the blocking of 27.87 million irregular SIMs. The projects launched in consultation with cellular mobile operators have also helped regularise 21 million mobile phone SIM connections. PTA in its latest report on the telecom sector has revealed that it has been extending its efforts to regularise SIM sale procedures in order to counter various consumer issues like misuse of Computerised National Identity Card copy and at the same time address the concerns of Law Enforcement Agencies.

Earlier, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had emphasised on making the process of acquiring new SIMs more difficult.

“The use of unverified and unregistered SIMs is a threat to Pakistan’s security,” he had said in a statement issued to The Express Tribune.