ISLAMABAD: Regulatory and law enforcement officials have warned that loopholes in Pakistan’s SIM registration and banking systems are enabling criminals to carry out financial fraud, despite efforts to block illegal SIMs.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control was informed on Thursday that 18.2 million illegal SIMs had been blocked over the past two and a half years, while telecom companies had also been fined for violations. However, scammers continue to exploit weaknesses in the system.
Officials told the committee that criminals were using stolen biometric data and rented bank accounts to conduct financial scams, exposing persistent gaps in the mechanisms designed to prevent the misuse of SIMs and banking channels.
The meeting was chaired by Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz and attended by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and several lawmakers.
Senior officials from the Interior and Law divisions, Capital Development Authority, National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Punjab Board of Revenue also attended the meeting.
NCCIA Director Irfanullah Khan told the committee that weaknesses in the existing system were contributing to the rise in cybercrime. Referring to a recent operation in Multan, he said the agency had recovered 195 active SIMs and 81 ATM cards allegedly being used by scammers.
“They are exploiting gaps to carry out their activities,” he told the panel.
PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman acknowledged that the biometric verification system used for SIM issuance was being circumvented. He said criminals were obtaining fingerprint data from locations including airports, driving licence centres and passport offices, and possibly from Nadra.
The PTA chairman said that, in joint operations with the NCCIA, authorities had raided 110 facilities, blocked 29,000 illegal SIMs and arrested 171 suspects. Data belonging to around 600,000 individuals was also recovered during the operations.
Minister of State Talal Chaudhry said the existing biometric verification mechanism had become outdated and called for the introduction of more advanced identification methods, including facial and iris recognition.
He also urged telecom operators to strengthen their security systems in coordination with the PTA and highlighted the growing practice of renting out bank accounts to launder proceeds from online scams.
Committee chairman Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz directed Interior Secretary Ahmad Raza Sarwar to urgently convene a meeting of relevant stakeholders, including the State Bank of Pakistan, PTA, NCCIA and telecom operators, to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent the supply of illegal SIMs used in financial fraud.
The committee was also briefed by the NCCIA, PTA, cellular operators and banking sector representatives on fraudulent calls, illegal SIM issuance, misuse of biometric information and emerging financial scams.
Officials highlighted newer methods of fraud, including unauthorised withdrawals and the use of rented or “mule” bank accounts.
The committee directed the authorities to formulate practical legislative, regulatory and technical measures to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity framework. It also called for greater public awareness regarding the unauthorised use of foreign SIMs and urged authorities to monitor social media platforms for their illegal promotion.
MNA Khawaja Izharul Hassan proposed that citizens should receive an automatic SMS notification whenever more than one SIM is registered against their CNIC.
The PTA chairman suggested that SIMs should be issued exclusively through Nadra’s PAK ID system, while an official of the State Bank recommended linking each SIM to a single IMEI number.
Separately, the committee considered the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and recommended that it be passed by the National Assembly. PPP lawmakers Rafiullah and Abdul Qadir Patel recorded dissenting notes.
During discussions on law and order, Islamabad Police briefed the committee on the Safe City Project and the narcotics situation. The committee called for anti-narcotics awareness campaigns in schools and universities, particularly concerning ice and other synthetic drugs, and directed authorities to ensure that all Safe City cameras were made fully operational.
In February, the FIA had warned that illegal international SIMs, particularly those originating from the United Kingdom, were being used in Pakistan for serious crimes, including child pornography, kidnapping for ransom and online financial fraud.
The FIA Cybercrime Wing had launched a crackdown on the unauthorised trade of international SIMs, resulting in the arrest of 44 suspects in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Sukkur and Abbottabad.
Authorities also recovered 8,363 UK-based international SIMs and registered 21 cases across the country, according to FIA officials.
