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The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) have stepped up action against illegal SIM activations in Karachi following a complaint from the PTA zonal office. The joint operation targeted a telecom franchise in Al Falah Society Shah Faisal Colony. Officials said investigators seized equipment and arrested three people including the franchise owner and the manager. An FIR has been registered and enquiries are under way.
Authorities described the raid as part of a wider drive to stop illegal SIM activations that enable phishing financial fraud and grey telecom activity. Officials said the misuse of unauthorised SIMs has been linked to scams that target welfare beneficiaries and other vulnerable groups. The Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs was briefed this month on increased coordination between PTA and NCCIA to curb this threat.
Karachi is one of several cities where enforcement has been intensified. Officials noted that raids carried out in July disrupted networks involved in unauthorised SIM issuance and seized dozens of BVS devices used for illegal activations. Investigators have also recovered large caches of biometric data in related probes. Arrests followed operations that traced illicit activations to multiple franchise outlets.
The PTA and NCCIA urged franchise operators to follow KYC rules and biometric verification requirements. Officials said any outlet found issuing SIMs without proper checks will face legal action. The agencies asked the public to report suspicious shops or offers and to use official PTA and NCCIA hotlines for tips.
Investigators reported that the Karachi case will run through regular courts of law and that more arrests could be made as digital forensics and device examination continues. The agencies emphasized building up on enforcement and citizen cooperation to break down networks which make profits on illegal SIM activations and to decrease related cyber fraud throughout the country.
