Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Thursday expressed his concern over the procedure of acquiring new mobile phone SIMs and said that the use of unverified and unregistered SIMs was a threat to security.
The minister said this while chairing a meeting to discuss the issues pertaining to the national security. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman and representatives of NADRA, FIA, NCMC, PTA and special branch of the Sindh police.
Ch Nisar said: “No compromise will be made on this issue with cellular companies because this matter relates to the national security.”
He ordered for the establishment of fast track system to resolve this issue permanently. This will help the concerned authorities track activities of criminals and terrorists and take preemptive measures to stop them, he added.
The minister said the current government had a good track record of being business friendly and would do its utmost to help the telecommunication business to prosper in Pakistan, however, no concession on national security would be made.
NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik informed that the NADRA had the capacity to verify the SIMs by using biometric system. This will integrate the process of SIMs verification with the updated NADRA database that contains all biometric information of the citizens.
Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman said she would like NADRA and the telecommunication companies to reach a consensus on the cost of implementing the biometric system.
Finally, the minister discussed the problems relating to immigration and directed that all entry and exit points of the country should be monitored thoroughly and strict discipline should be maintained at the immigration counters.
He asked the officers to ensure that the queues reserved for women children and senior citizens should not be breached by other people. The minister also directed the FIA director general to set up complaint and comment counters at all major airports of the country in order to incorporate the opinion of the passengers for improvements of the system.