Faisalabad Administration to Ask PTA to Block SIM Cards of Unvaccinated Citizens

Faisalabad’s civil administration has decided to ask the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block the SIMs of unvaccinated people in the division.

According to a spokesperson for the district administration, Commissioner Faisalabad Division, Zahid Hussain, gave the nod to the proposal in a high-level meeting held earlier today in view of the rising COVID-19 cases in Punjab.

During the meeting, Commissioner Faisalabad Division also directed relevant authorities to approach PTA through the federal government to send warning messages to users of all mobile networks in the division to get vaccinated within a week before blocking their SIMs.

The spokesperson added that the district administration has been forced to take such a stern decision after a poor response from the citizens to the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign, urging the citizens to get vaccinated at the earliest to avoid any inconvenience.

On the other hand, credible sources have claimed that telecommunication companies will oppose the move of blocking SIMs of unvaccinated citizens.

Their paramount argument is that there are different options that Faisalabad’s civil administration could’ve exercised to encourage the citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Certainly, such measures wouldn’t please the telecom industry one bit as they firmly believe that basic rights shouldn’t be curbed no matter what. The telecom industry is now assessing its options and may formally approach PTA in the next couple of days in an attempt to block the move by Faisalabad’s administration.