Sim Verification

SIM re-verification deadline has yet again been extended till 15th May 2015.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, along with the Interior Ministry of Pakistan, is repeatedly not only extending re-verification deadlines but also, making contradicting claims about the unverified SIMS being blocked and the number of actual SIMs verified to date.


Turning the whole idea of combating terrorism by upgrading the telecommunication verification system into a joke, as with all things in Pakistan, PTA has quoted a number of 11 million unverified SIMs in the white list of those for which the deadline has been extended.

Funnily enough, this is the exact number of SIMs that the authorities announced as being unverified and eventually, blocked at the previous deadline, 14th April 2015.

Moreover, two weeks ago, PTA has lifted the ban on the issuance of new SIMs by telecom companies and invited the Interior Ministry to audit the SIM re-verification process. With the deadline extended once again, it is quite confusing to comprehend how the audit will be conducted and how telecom companies will be issuing new SIMs if it is still unclear whether the previously unverified SIMs have been blocked or not.

The idea to re-verify SIMs through biometric verification was conducted as a response to the horrifying Peshawar school attack back in December 2014. However, with the contradictory claims and the random rules to verify and block SIMs, it is obvious that the execution of the idea has been more than flawed to be effective enough.