Getting a Pakistani SIM for Foreigners isn’t HALWA

We know Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has tighten the security around getting a new SIM in Pakistan, but we didn’t know it can get so devastating for foreigners while purchasing a SIM card during their short stay in the country.

So the process of getting a new SIM is pretty simple for Pakistanis, you go to a franchise/sales center, submit your data, get a SIM and that’s it; though you need to activate it by calling 789 and telling them some secret questions.

789 helpline asks you those secret questions based on your ID card information, which obviously isn’t possible to provide for a foreigner.

Generally, SOP adopted by all cellular companies is that foreigners need to visit Service Centers (themselves) with their Passport (having Pakistani Visa on it), their National ID card, security number, driving license or whatever with a photo identity on it and submit it to service center office – who would check all the relevant documents and will issue an activated SIM.

However, this didn’t happen to Don Sambandaraksa, a Bangkok Post reporter, during his visit to Islamabad. Remember, we carried his interview with VP Telenor.

The guy roamed in Islamabad/Rawalpindi for three days, met various executives but couldn’t get an activated SIM.

And guess what; ultimately he had to lend one activated SIM from his driver, which he used for remaining 3 days of his stay in Islamabad.

This also tells how strict cellular companies have been these days, thanks to PTA, in simple words: You can’t get a SIM if you don’t have an ID card.

Following is the complete story in Don Sambandaraksa’s own words

When travelling, I always buy a prepaid Sim card upon arriving in each country. Roaming charges are still pretty exorbitant for data and getting a pre-paid Sim means you can beat the system, even if you are only there for a few days. But of all the places I have picked up local Sim cards, my adventure in Pakistan a couple of months ago will forever remain in the memory.

On Saturday morning, after wrapping up an interview on mobile finance with the Vice-President of Telenor Pakistan, the cheerful public relations officer told me that because of the strict rules on Sim registration, he could not simply hand me a Sim card, but that he had arranged for the manager on one franchisee to get me one on production of my passport. So, I grabbed a hotel limo and headed out.

The cheerful and friendly driver said that there was no need to go all the way to Rawalpindi and took me to the nearest Telenor shop. No luck – the lady there said they cannot sell Sims to foreigners. So, we went anyway on quite a drive to Rawalpindi, only to again be told by the lady in the front desk that foreigners cannot get Sim cards. After insisting that the manager was expecting me, he was called out and greeted me very, very warmly.

There’s this thing with the people of Pakistan. You feel it from the moment you apply for a visa at the embassy and get escorted up to be interviewed. It’s a very warm, very genuine sense of hospitality. Whatever the problem, whatever the situation, first they must offer you a cup of tea, shake hands and sit down properly and only then start to address the the matter at hand.

So, after I sat down with drinks in his office, the Telenor store manager took a copy of my passport and began the registration process.

About half an hour later he was still offering more tea and drinks (Pakistan has this fixation with Mountain Dew, for some reason) and assuring me that it will only be another short while.

I think it was about an hour after I first walked into the shop that he finally gave up and said that no matter what, the Telenor call centre would not let him activate a Sim card for me and that I had to go to Telenor’s head office on a weekday to get it activated.

No matter, we spent the next day and a half exploring Pakistan.

On Monday, I grabbed the same driver in the morning and headed off to the Telenor Office. The PR was not reachable but then some executive walked by and again in what was now typical Pakistani manner and hospitality, dropped everything, asked me why I was here and led to me a meeting room where I could explain my days of adventure in trying just to get a Sim card.

After the customary cup of tea, he made a series of calls and finally gave me what I hoped was a definitive answer. Apparently, there is only one branch for commercial customers that can issue Sim cards for foreigners, again this was in the old town of Rawalpindi. He gave me the name of the manager and told me that he would be expecting me. I thanked my host at Telenor for the tea and we set off.

Just down the road near the Telenor HQ, the driver stopped at some shops. I assumed it was for a smoke – he returned with a surprise. This simple guy, this driver at the hotel I was staying at and whom I had hired for three consecutive days running around town on a Quixotic quest, managed to do what a succession of Telenor executives could not. He handed me an activated Telenor Pakistan Sim card for me that he had kindly registered in his name.

Coverage was excellent and data speeds were decent for Edge, though in the hills some cells were still GPRS. 100KBPS is easily achievable in town in the evenings, a bit faster-off peak, speeds that are quite good by Thai standards.

After I got back to Bangkok, Telenor’s public relations sent me a statement that any shop can sell Sim cards to foreigners and that activation would take place the next day. Well, perhaps one day I will get an opportunity to go there again and find out if they have managed to tell that to their call centre.

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