Pakistan blocks over two mn unverified SIM cards

Islamabad, Jan 30: Over two million mobile SIM cards have been blocked across Pakistan, a media report said Friday. The cards have been blocked under a campaign launched by the government for verification of mobile phone subscribers' details , Dawn online reported. Earlier this month, the government gave Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) 91 days to verify 103 million SIM cards issued before August 2013 but not verified through the Biometric Verification System (BVS). Since the exercise began Jan 12 this year, PTA has re-verified 8.72 million subscribers. The three-month period to verify mobile phone connections through the BVS expires April 13. "Three months is not realistic time for such an uphill task but such are the directions from the interior ministry," PTA chairman Syed Ismail Shah said.