Pakistan, June 28 -- The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will begin blocking SIM cards registered to deceased persons from June 30, 2025, to curb the growing misuse of inactive identity records in financial fraud, terrorism, online scams, and illegal activities.
This nationwide operation follows a data-sharing agreement with NADRA, which provided the PTA with verified records of CNICs belonging to deceased individuals still linked to active mobile numbers. Authorities say these SIMs are often used by criminals who exploit loopholes in identity verification systems.
The crackdown will take place in three phases. Phase one will target SIMs registered to CNICs that expired in 2017, while phase two will begin on November 30, and th...