The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has recovered the biometric data of six hundred thousand people during raids conducted jointly with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the PTA chairman told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday.
Briefing the committee, the PTA chairman said 125 joint raids with the NCCIA had led to the recovery of 25,000 SIM cards and the arrest of 171 suspects. He said biometric records had been leaked from the facility where they were stored, prompting the Minister of State for Interior to call for stronger security measures to protect the data.
A PTA official told the committee that 1.8 million SIM cards had been blocked over the past two and a half years, and that the system was being upgraded in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
The PTA chairman added that cellular companies were also implicated in the misuse of the SIM issuance process, noting that a customer could obtain a sixth SIM after five had already been issued in their name.
Committee member Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan said illegal SIMs had fueled a rise in terrorism, extortion and other crimes, adding that SIM cards registered in the United Kingdom were being advertised and sold in Pakistan.
The Minister of State for Interior said bank accounts were also being rented out for illicit use, with account holders knowingly allowing fraudulent funds to be deposited into them. He said the PTA needed to take independent steps to strengthen its own security measures.
