An audit report has revealed that seven franchises operating in Balochistan illegally activated nearly 2,000 SIM cards registered under the names of Punjab citizens, exposing serious irregularities in SIM sales and registration practices across the province. The findings have raised concerns over the effectiveness of measures currently in place to prevent this kind of large scale, organised SIM fraud.
According to the audit, despite clear evidence of fraud, the franchises involved were issued only show cause notices, with no criminal cases registered against them and no financial penalties imposed. The report also disclosed that two telecom companies were separately fined more than Rs1.88 billion and issued their own show cause notices over related violations, though implementation of these decisions has not been fully carried out.
The audit described the absence of effective action against organised fake SIM fraud as a matter of serious concern, noting that the gap raises broader questions about national security and the adequacy of the current regulatory system overseeing SIM registration and issuance. Auditors have directed relevant institutions to take practical steps toward the immediate recovery of outstanding dues and to pursue effective legal action against those responsible, in order to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
The findings add to a long running pattern of enforcement actions against illegal SIM issuance across Pakistan, with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the Federal Investigation Agency having carried out numerous joint raids on telecom franchises in recent years, recovering thousands of illegally activated SIMs and Biometric Verification System devices used to bypass identity checks. Officials have previously noted that SIMs registered under other people’s identities are frequently linked to broader criminal activity, including financial fraud, extortion, and fake account creation on messaging platforms, since such SIMs are difficult to trace back to the individuals actually using them.
The latest audit’s finding that only show cause notices were issued, without fines or prosecutions, despite documented evidence of organised fraud, points to a recurring enforcement gap that has drawn criticism in previous cases as well. With outstanding fines from telecom companies still not fully collected and franchise level accountability remaining limited, the audit’s recommendations for stronger recovery action and legal follow up add pressure on regulators to close what auditors have described as a serious weakness in Pakistan’s SIM registration oversight system.
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