Pakistan to use biometrics to monitor SIM card sales

Vendors of SIM cards in Pakistan have been given three months to install biometric systems, including fingerprint readers, to confirm the identity of customers.

This news comes as Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said unregistered mobile phones and motorcycles have become “instruments for terrorists to unleash violence,” the Telegraph reports.

According to the article, mobile phones are frequently used to detonate explosives and are also employed as backup in case suicide bombers decide to back out of missions at the last minute.

“No mobile phone SIM will be sold by an unconcerned person or at shops in the future,” Malik said. “For this purpose, a law will be introduced shortly.”

In November, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) banned the sale of SIM cards from store fronts or franchises, acting under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior in an effort to curb the illegal distribution of SIM cards and their use in criminal activities, according to TeleGeography.

Article Topics

biometric database  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  fingerprint reader  |  government  |  law enforcement  |  mobile phones  |  Pakistan