The first phase of biometric verification of SIMs in Pakistan ended back in May 2015. During the period, millions of unauthorized SIMs were blocked dropping the number of users of each telco to a great extent. Now, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has initiated the 2nd phase of biometric verification that includes data SIMs.
Data SIMs are those which are made purely for internet purposes. They can’t be used for voice calls. PTA has asked all data SIMs providers to verify their customers by biometric method till 31st December 2015. All telecom operators of Pakistan have already got their data SIM customers verified during the first phase. So such users don’t need to get worry. This phase is particularly for PTCL EVO and Nitro customers.
PTCL has already begun communicating with its customers regarding the process. Here is a copy of message received by EVO and Charji customers:
Moziz Saarif, PTA ki Hidayat kay mutabiq, Apki Evo aur Charji Device ki Biometric tareeqay se tasdiq 31 December se pehle karana lazmi hai. Tasdiq keranay ke liye kisi bhi PTCL one stop shop, Ufone Service Center, Ufone Franchise ya Ufone Retailer per apni device aur asli CNIC ke sath tashreef layey.
If you have got an EVO or Nitro device, it is your national duty to get it verified as the whole process is part of National Action Plan. PTA has confirmed that any unverified data SIM after the deadline will get blocked.
It is important to note that there are 1.2 million EVO, Nitro and Charji customers in Pakistan. They have been given only 30 days to get their connections verified. It is quite a short duration. We can expect the extension of the deadline during the last few days of the duration.