Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Hayder Jamali Wednesday constituted a committee of DIGs, including DIG CIA and zonal DIGs Karachi, to formulate practical recommendations in close coordination and discussion with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Karachi zone pertaining to SIMs issued before introducing Biometric Verification System (BVC), especially in the province of Sindh.
The committee has been directed to identify the quantum of non-verified SIMs issued and to recommend suitable action for ensuring BVS. This came out at a meeting held under the chair of IGP Sindh. The meeting held discussion with a nine-member delegation of PTA at Central Police Office.
It was proposed in the meeting that those non-verified prepaid SIMs which were not functioning for more than a month may be blocked; PTA to direct cellular companies to hand their customers to get their SIMs verified through BVS within a given framework of time; National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) may also be requested in black and white to give access to police with regard to SIMs verification data.
The delegation of PTA informed the meeting that a Joint Working Group (JWG) comprising senior representatives of Ministry of Information Technology, NADRA, FIA, IB, PTA etc had already been formed to look into the issue of availability of any verified SIMs, and to device a comprehensive re-verification execution plan through BVS. “The first meeting of JWG was held on November 24, 2014, and follow up meeting is scheduled on November 28, 2014,” the meeting was further informed.
The Sindh police officers while expressing their reservations requested the chair to approach the ministry of interior to make few officers of DIG ranks the part the JWG for achieving fruitful results as far as Karachi and other part of Sindh were concerned. The forum agreed to and the formal request would be sent shortly.
Jamali directed the police officers to draft recommendations in the light of discussion held regarding re-verification of SIMs issued by BVS as soon as possible to submit the same in the next meeting which is expected to be held in the first week of next month at the ministry of interior Islamabad.
