Fighting Fake Phones: Faiz’s Firm Framework

The government has affirmed its firm stance to block illegally imported, smuggled, and cloned phones to ensure multiple layers of security and safety for citizens, society, economy, and the state. Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, stated that this initiative could prevent at least 13 types of crimes. At the same time, he clarified that the prices of legally imported mobile phones at the consumer level will be handled as necessary.

In a press release sent on the evening of 19 November and through several posts on his social handles, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb shared these updates.

He mentioned that all active phones will be registered as legal before 16 December to bring order to the mobile market. In parallel, BTRC is working to simplify the registration process for phones imported through legal channels. Discussions have already taken place with NBR to reduce import duties, and a meeting with the NBR Chairman is expected soon. Requests have also been made to local manufacturers to reduce prices.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb emphasized that no one will be allowed to dump hundreds of thousands of phones illegally, circumventing taxes as happened a year ago. He stressed that legitimate business of mobile traders or shops will not be disrupted—they must sell legally imported phones and support local manufacturers.

Currently, millions of phones are being manufactured for a single IMEI code, but the implementation of NEIR will make this impossible. Mafia networks attempting to block NEIR are actively involved. NEIR will curb luggage party smuggling, fake HS codes, border smuggling, and related digital crimes, with no exceptions.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb listed some crimes associated with illegal phones, including SIM misregistration/eKYC fraud, bulk SMS scams for gambling and MLM, incorrect MFS registration/eKYC and mobile financing crimes, online gambling and scamming, illegal cloned phones, unpaid patents and royalties, tax and duty evasion, illegal import from India and China, airport luggage party smuggling, border smuggling, hindrance to local handset manufacturing, phone theft recovery, robbery, and lost phone return issues.

He further clarified that expatriates bringing one or two phones from abroad can register them legally without any problem. For more than two phones, separate NBR rules apply, requiring payment of fees. Registration, de-registration, and re-registration procedures are being simplified for ordinary citizens based on reasonable suggestions. InshaAllah, illegal, smuggled, and cloned phones will be blocked without any exception.

DBTech/JU/IH/OR