IT Ministry finalises Instalment plans for buying cell phones

Earlier November, the IT Ministry announced plans for providing mobile phones on instalments to citizens. Sources suggest that the IT Ministry has finalised the proposal and sent it to the Law Ministry for vetting.

According to sources, all mobile phone companies have shown compliance with the IT Ministry’s initiative and with their agreement the Ministry has finalised the proposal. The consequences of not paying instalments are simple: the mobile phone of the applicant will be blocked. 

This agreement takes Pakistan Telecommunication Authority into play as the devices of defaulters will be blocked under the Device Identification and Registration & Blocking System (DIRBS).

Sources suggest that the proposal of blocking unauthorised SIM cards and CNICs is still under consideration. However, for now PTA will not rely on mobile companies to block devices, instead DIRBS will be used in accordance with PTA to block mobile phones of defaulters.

For implementation of this initiative, the IT Ministry has sent the finalised proposal to the Law Ministry for vetting. Once the proposal is vetted, it will then be submitted to the Federal Cabinet for final approval. PTA will be the lead executioner to ensure that any defaulter faces the consequences.