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Friday, November 29, 2013
SC seeks temporary solution to stop unlocking of illegal SIMs* Sindh Addl IG presents machine in court being used by criminals to reactivate blocked SIMs
KARACHI: The Supreme Court has ordered the telecom companies to provide a temporary solution by today (Friday) to stop criminals from activating and using illegal SIMs.
A larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued the direction while hearing the Karachi law and order implementation case at Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry on Thursday. The court called for mandatory verification from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for purchase of mobile phone SIMs. It directed formulation of laws that limit the sale of SIMs to five on each national identity card.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Ismail Shah told the court that there were 125 million active SIMs in the country. He said all SIMs were being issued in accordance with the law and there is adequate procedure to activate them. Chief Justice Iftikhar remarked that the sale of SIMs from unlicensed outlets should be stopped, saying that the service providers were conducting business by issuing unverified SIMs. Meanwhile, Justice Saqib Nisar said that in several areas of the country, including Lahore, an active SIM could be purchased for Rs 50.
Sindh Additional IG Shahid Hayat presented the Chinese machine before the Supreme Court which was being used to activate SIMs. He informed the court that this machine was being used to activate SIMs which had been deactivated. Hayat said that during a targeted operation, 3,000 active SIMs had been recovered. According to the AIG, the SIMs were issued on data obtained from voter lists and would then be used in criminal activity. Hayat told the court that if this issue was resolved, 50 percent cases of kidnapping for ransom could be resolved.
On a separate issue, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Tariq Bajwa told the court that 1,798 containers got clearance from Karachi port on Wednesday (November 27) and the authority managed to collect revenue of Rs 2.75 billion. He said that 39,992 containers had been cleared in 27 days of November last year, while more than 28,000 containers were cleared in 27 days of November this year. He maintained that the department collected 24 percent more revenue this year as compared to last year’s revenue despite clear-cut decrease in containers.
The chief justice observed that the rate of dollar has increased during the year which is why revenue collected by FBR seems big. The FBR chairman told the court that an enquiry has been started against 20 officers of the department after their suspension. The CJP said that only enquiries would not bring positive results, saying demerits of system are the main obstacles. online
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk