Pakistan's Zardari Orders Blockade Of Sim Cards To Militants

Islamabad, Nov 4, IRNA – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has taken serious note of the use of mobile phones by the militants and criminals asking the Government to work out a plan so that no sims were delivered at the retail shops and the outlets of mobile companies. Presiding over a meeting in the port city of Karachi on the law and order, the president also issued instructions that the mobile sims should be posted to the addresses of the applicant as mentioned in the Computerized National Identity Card, presidential spokesman said. President Zardari directed the interior minister to frame draft policy in that regard for the Cabinet’s approval, spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar said after the meeting. The Interior Ministry said that militants and criminal gangs routinely use fake mobile sims for contacts to carry out attacks and commit crimes. The government had temporarily blocked mobile phone service in 13 major cities on the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid at the weekend over threats of attacks. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the militants used a fake sim in a bomb blast at a shrine in the northwestern Nowshehra district last Sunday. The blat killed four people and injured dozens more. Officials said millions of fake sims were still being used by the people and the militants take advantage of the weak system to get sims from unauthorized outlets across the country. President Zardari also took note of proliferation of the arms and weapons in Karachi and observed that the arms licenses should be Smart Card based as to ensure that no fictitious licenses were issued, the Spokesperson added. Karachi has been in the grip of target political and sectarian killings for months and police sources said that seven persons were killed in firing incidents in that city on Thursday./end