ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has devised a plan to block Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) of users in three phases, sources.
According to sources within PTA, the authority has received data from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the process to block the sims will start on August 16.
The details stated that SIMs registered on the fake and canceled CNICs would be blocked in the first phase, while in the second phase, SIMs registered at expired CNICs to be blocked.
In the third and final phase SIMs registered under CNICs of deceased persons will be blocked, the sources said.
Furthermore, the subscribers have started receiving messages on their SIMs.
Separately, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) barred the federal government from blocking the Subscriber Identity Modules of non-filers.
IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq issued the order in response to a writ petition filed by the telecom operator.
The petition challenged Clause 114-B of the Income Tax Ordinance and the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Income Tax General Orders against non-filers.
The petitioner argued that the tax regulator’s new-found authority violated the fundamental right to freedom of business under Article 18 of the Constitution.
Earlier, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday barred the federal government from blocking the SIMs of non-filers, ARY News reported.
IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq issued the order in response to a writ petition filed by the telecom operator.
The court also issued notice to the federal government in this regard, with the next hearing on the matter scheduled for May 27, 2024.
The petition challenged Clause 114-B of the Income Tax Ordinance and the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Income Tax General Orders against non-filers.
The petitioner argued that the tax regulator’s new-found authority violated the fundamental right to freedom of business under Article 18 of the Constitution.
The petitioner warned that if implemented, this law would allow the government to deprive citizens of services in other business areas as well. The development comes a day after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and telecom operators had agreed to block the mobile SIM cards of non-filers, with 5,000 SIMs to be blocked daily. –Agencies
