Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has revised its SIM disowning policy, extending the minimum retention period for newly activated SIM cards to 365 days from the date of activation, a significant tightening of the previous framework that is intended to prevent illegal SIM registration, reduce identity misuse, and strengthen accountability within Pakistan’s mobile connectivity ecosystem. Under the revised policy, citizens are being advised to exercise greater caution during biometric verification for new SIM activation, as any newly activated SIM can now only be disowned after one year from the activation date, with PTA stating that the move is intended to improve transparency, strengthen identity protection, and reduce misuse linked to unauthorised mobile registrations.
The extended disowning period represents a deliberate shift in PTA’s regulatory posture toward greater accountability at the point of SIM activation rather than allowing easy disowning shortly after a SIM is registered. Previously, the disowning window was considerably shorter, which critics and regulators identified as a mechanism being exploited to register SIM cards against citizens’ identities without their knowledge or consent, and then quickly disown them before detection. By extending the minimum period to a full year, PTA is making it harder for bad actors to cycle through fraudulent registrations undetected, while simultaneously placing greater responsibility on citizens to be vigilant about the biometric verification process they participate in.
To help users monitor connections registered against their identity, citizens are encouraged to check the number of SIM cards linked to their Computerised National Identity Card through the official SIM information service or by sending their Computerised National Identity Card number without dashes via short message service to 668. The authority also advised individuals to immediately report any unauthorised or suspicious SIM registration to their respective mobile network operator, and urged the public to remain vigilant and ensure that only personally used SIM cards remain registered against their Computerised National Identity Card to avoid misuse and identity-related risks. The directive sits alongside a broader set of SIM compliance measures PTA has been enforcing throughout 2026, including restrictions on nighttime SIM sales between midnight and 6 AM, warnings about WhatsApp access being restricted on unverified SIM cards, and a cap of five voice SIM cards and three data SIM cards per Computerised National Identity Card enforced through automated blocking systems. Together, these measures reflect PTA’s intent to build a more accountable and verifiable mobile identity framework across Pakistan’s telecommunications network.
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