Fact-check: True, PTA has increased SIM disowning period from 60 to 365 days

A post circulating on social media states that Pakistan's telecommunications regulator has introduced a new policy under which active SIM cards cannot be disowned or transferred to another person for one year after activation as part of efforts to prevent unauthorised SIM usage. The post has prompted several users online to question whether the information is genuine.

The information is accurate.

Claim

On May 25, a user shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had announced that active SIM cards can no longer be disowned or transferred to another person's name for one year after activation.

“According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), previously a SIM could be deactivated after 60 days; however, this period has now been extended to 365 days. The aim of this measure is to prevent citizens from repeatedly wasting SIM cards or transferring them to others and to further strengthen digital security,” the post stated.

At the time of writing, the post had garnered more than 8,000 views and 29 likes.

Similar claims have also been shared on Facebook and Instagram.  

Fact

The claim is authentic. The PTA has indeed revised its policy regarding the disowning of SIM cards.

Ahmed Shamim, the director general of the international relations and government affairs division at the PTA, confirmed to Geo Fact Check over the phone that users cannot disown a SIM card for one year from the date it is activated.

The PTA has also issued an advisory on its official X and Facebook accounts stating that it has increased the SIM disowning period from 60 days to 365 days as part of its efforts to strengthen safeguards against illegal SIM issuance and unauthorised registrations.

According to the advisory, citizens are strongly encouraged to exercise caution when providing biometric verification for SIM issuance, as any newly activated SIM can now only be disowned after one year.

The PTA further advised citizens to regularly check the number of SIM cards registered against their CNIC. Users can do so by visiting cnic.sims.pk or by sending their CNIC number (without dashes) via SMS to 668.

The advisory can be viewed here.

Verdict: The claim that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has extended the SIM disowning period from 60 days to 365 days is accurate. Under the revised policy, newly activated SIM cards cannot be disowned for one year after activation.

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