The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked 163,200 SIMs identified as illegal in a large-scale nationwide crackdown targeting unregistered and improperly issued mobile connections.
According to official documents, the enforcement drive aims to prevent fraud, identity theft, and criminal use of mobile networks. The action is part of a wider campaign combining advanced biometric verification systems with stringent enforcement and monitoring mechanisms.
PTA data shows the scale of the operation: over 6.43 million inactive SIMs have been permanently deactivated. Moreover, 171,000 SIMs registered to non-KP females in the Newly Merged Districts were blocked, and 2.98 million SIMs still active under the CNICs of deceased individuals were also deactivated.
The authority further blocked 69,246 SIMs linked to cancelled CNICs and 783,011 SIMs connected to 360,717 expired CNICs, demonstrating a focused clean-up of irregular mobile records.
As part of its enforcement strategy, the PTA conducted 62 targeted raids across various regions, resulting in the arrest of 72 individuals allegedly involved in illegal SIM registration networks. During these raids, enforcement teams seized 193 illegal Biometric Verification System devices, 11,470 physical SIM cards, and a digital cache of 296,060 fake fingerprints, which were being used to bypass biometric verification protocols.
To strengthen oversight of the SIM registration process, the PTA has introduced a Multi-Finger Biometric Verification System integrated with a 3-Factor Authentication mechanism. This system operates through a network of 185,000 live finger identification devices SIM the country.
The PTA has also implemented stricter operational controls, such as increased buffer time between SIM sales and a complete restriction of SIM issuance to authorized service centers and franchises, effectively cutting off unauthorized retailers.