KARACHI: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that SIMS will continue to be purchased at franchises of cellular companies, according to the media on Thursday.  

The prime minister agreed to withdraw the November 13 directive of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in which mobile SIMs were to be dispatched to the residence of the subscriber on their CNIC. 

The announcement was made after the PM met CEOs of all cellular companies today at the Prime Minister house in Islamabad. 

MNP ban and suspension of cellular service on religious and national occasions were also discussed during the meeting. 

Reports also suggest that cellular companies will issue SIMs only after verification of thumb impression. Not just that, pictures of customers will be stored in database of cellular companies prior to issuance of SIMs. 

As if that wasn't enough, customers will receive their SIMs only after verification from NADRA, along with counter-verification through 789 at the time of SIM activation. 

These measures will be deployed in two months. 

Ban on MNP has also been reversed, and network portability retained, that is, switching from one network to another, without changing mobile numbers. 

In addition, verification of handset IMEI numbers will also be carried out. 

It may be mentioned that on November 9, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said that over-the-counter sale of SIMs would be discontinued from next month, and cellular companies would be required to dispatch SIMs to the customer's home address. 

The interior minister also said that unregistered prepaid SIMS would be banned after December 31. 

Copyright Business Recorder, 2012