ISLAMABAD: A total of 45,000 illegal Afghan Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) have stopped functioning after the roaming facility of five Afghan mobile phone companies was blocked in the country due to their alleged use in terror activities and cases of abduction for ransom.
A report was also submitted by the respective operators to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which had issued orders for blocking these SIMs for an indefinite period.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had directed the PTA on June 21 to block roaming facilities on Afghan SIMs in the country within two days, a move that would help block cross-border communication between terrorists.
The prime minister issued the directions on the request of law enforcement agencies which informed the government that Afghan SIMs were being openly used inside tribal areas by terrorists and criminal elements.
