ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s telecom regulator has disconnected more than 1.8 million illegal mobile SIM cards since the start of the year, officials said, as authorities widen a joint crackdown on unauthorized connections linked to identity fraud, grey-market sales and cybercrime.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said 1,838,689 illegal SIMs were blocked over a seven-month period, according to officials at the regulator. The campaign is being run alongside the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and has so far included dozens of raids, the seizure of thousands of illegally sold foreign SIM cards, and nearly 40 arrests.
How the 1.8 Million Figure Breaks Down
PTA officials attributed the blocked connections to three categories of enforcement action.
- 691,102 SIMs were deactivated under general enforcement against unauthorized and unregistered mobile connections between January and July.
- 903,230 SIMs were found registered against the Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) of deceased individuals and were blocked after what officials described as repeated public warnings urging families to deactivate such connections themselves.
- 244,357 SIMs were linked to cancelled or expired CNICs and were removed as part of PTA’s ongoing identity-verification drive.
The deceased-CNIC category accounted for the largest single share of the total, pointing to a recurring problem the regulator has flagged before: SIMs that stay active on a relative’s identity documents long after death, which officials warn can be exploited for fraud or impersonation.
Joint Raids With NCCIA Lead to Dozens of Arrests
Beyond the disconnections, PTA and the NCCIA carried out 25 joint raids in Islamabad and other locations targeting the illegal sale and distribution of foreign SIM cards. The operations led to the recovery of 8,051 foreign SIMs and the arrest of 37 people accused of involvement in the illegal SIM trade, according to the regulator.
PTA said enforcement activity would continue nationwide, with officials indicating that legal action is planned against individuals and distribution networks found selling, distributing or misusing SIM cards outside the regulator’s biometric verification rules.
Part of a Wider Push Against SIM Fraud
The seven-month tally extends a longer-running PTA campaign to close gaps in Pakistan’s SIM registration system, which relies on the Multi-Finger Biometric Verification System (MBVS) to match new connections against fingerprint records held by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
PTA and NCCIA enforcement teams have carried out repeated raids on telecom franchises over the past year, from Lahore and Karachi to smaller towns including Shahkot, Haveli Lakha and Pattoki, accusing some outlets of activating SIMs using stolen fingerprints, tampered biometric devices or falsified identity documents. In one raid in Punjab’s Kasur district earlier this year, investigators said they recovered software tools capable of GPS spoofing and altering the identification numbers of biometric verification devices, along with more than 200,000 stored digital fingerprints on a single seized phone.
PTA has also tightened the rules around SIM ownership. Under a revised policy, a SIM that has been biometrically verified cannot be transferred or disowned for a full year after activation, up from a 60-day window previously — a change officials say is meant to stop agents from reusing the same fraudulently obtained fingerprint to activate a SIM repeatedly. The current drive follows earlier large-scale actions, including a campaign in late 2024 that resulted in the deactivation of several million inactive SIM connections nationwide.
The enforcement push has also touched adjacent schemes. In July, PTA’s Lahore office filed a complaint with NCCIA over the alleged illegal sale of subscriber data, including call records, location data and IMEI numbers, which led to three arrests and the recovery of several biometric verification devices. Officials say cases like this show how stolen identity data can feed into fraudulent SIM registrations, which are in turn used to pass identity checks on messaging apps or financial services — a pattern regulators are trying to disrupt at the registration stage.
For telecom operators, the intensified enforcement adds to a compliance burden that has grown steadily since PTA introduced biometric SIM verification years ago. Franchise owners now face suspension, financial penalties or referral to NCCIA if their outlets are linked to fraudulent activations, effectively pushing much of the responsibility for catching bad actors onto operators’ own retail networks. The trade-off PTA has consistently pointed to is straightforward: tighter verification and longer ownership lock-in periods create more friction for legitimate subscribers, but are intended to close off a channel that has repeatedly been exploited for financial fraud and cybercrime.
Why It Matters for Pakistan’s Mobile Users
Pakistan had more than 204.7 million cellular subscribers as of February, according to PTA data, with nationwide teledensity above 82 percent. Illegal SIMs sit at the center of many of the fraud schemes PTA and NCCIA say they are working to disrupt, including phishing operations and financial scams; officials have separately told parliament’s Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs that such connections have also been used in schemes targeting welfare beneficiaries.
The regulator has flagged a legal risk for ordinary citizens as well: a SIM registered fraudulently against someone’s CNIC, without their knowledge, can leave that person legally associated with however the connection is later used. PTA has repeatedly urged citizens to check their own records rather than assume no SIM has been issued in their name.
Set against Pakistan’s overall subscriber base, the 1.8 million blocked connections represent just under one percent of total mobile connections. But the recurring nature of PTA’s SIM-blocking campaigns — this drive follows the 2024 inactive-SIM sweep and years of smaller franchise raids before it — points to illegal issuance as a persistent problem rather than one the regulator has been able to close off permanently.
How to Check If a SIM Is Registered to Your CNIC
Subscribers can check how many SIMs are registered against their identity by sending their 13-digit CNIC number, without dashes, as an SMS to the shortcode 668. PTA’s system replies with an operator-by-operator count of active connections; the same information is available through PTA’s online SIM Information System portal.
Officials advise anyone who spots an unrecognized SIM to contact the relevant mobile operator or visit a franchise to have it blocked or transferred. Families of deceased CNIC holders are advised to bring a death certificate, the deceased’s CNIC and a NADRA family registration certificate to an operator’s franchise to have any remaining SIMs disowned or blocked.
A separate short code, 667, lets subscribers confirm the registered network and a masked CNIC for the specific SIM currently in their phone — a quicker check some use before linking a number to a bank account or mobile wallet, though it does not replace a full CNIC check through 668.
What Comes Next
PTA has not set an end date for the crackdown. Officials say enforcement will remain a standing priority alongside the NCCIA, with further raids, franchise inspections and legal cases expected as the two agencies continue investigating the illegal SIM trade. No additional nationwide figures have been announced beyond the seven-month total, though further updates are expected as PTA and NCCIA report on subsequent raids and enforcement action.
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