PTA to block unregistered mobile devices in GB and AJK after Sept 1st

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced plans to launch Device Integration, Registration, and Blocking System (DIRBS) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan to ensure the usage of genuine mobile devices, compliant to DIRBS and FBR regulations.

According to the PTA, to have uninterrupted access to local networks will require registration with the authority. The message has been circulated across the region so that the people of these regions can get their devices registered in time.

Since 2018, Pakistanis have been paying an additional tax on the registration of their mobile phones with the PTA, often referred to as PTA tax. These taxes were put in place to curb the smuggling of smartphones. More recently the FBR has imposed a tier-wise tax on imported smartphones, which in turn discourages people from buying imported phones, thereby reducing the import bill and outflow of dollars.

However, in the regions outside the direct purview of the FBR, such as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan. The use of smuggled phones was rampant. 

Another reason for this was that the state owned Special Communications Organisation (SCO), the primary network provider in these areas, could be operated on phones that were not registered with PTA. Not only that, the partnership of SCO with Ufone made it possible to use the sim outside of the AJK and GB reason, allowing people to use non-registered phones all over the country.

However, the FBR and SCO are both reported to have resolved the legal problems surrounding this issue to launch DIRBS in the region.