PTA launches system to block stolen, smuggled phones

E-Paper | March 13, 2026

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday formally launched a Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) which will allow for the blocking of stolen and smuggling cellphones, rendering them useless.

According to ProPakistani, the system will ensure that stolen and blocked phones, as well as phones with duplicate or non-standard identifiers are blocked.

PTA Chairman Muhammad Naveed made the announcement as the organisation celebrates crossing a milestone 50 million broadband subscribers.

The PTA chairman touted the acquisition of the DIRBS as a move that will "improve the telecom sector" by helping improve collection of tax and tracking down "illegal devices" in cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

With the launch of the first phase of the DIRBS, cellphone theft and smuggling will be eliminated and service quality will improve, the PTA chairman said, adding that government revenue would also increase in the process.

PTA's Abdul Samad explained that in the first phase, stolen and lost devices would be blocked, while in the second phase devices that are in people's use will be inspected.

Subscribers will also be able to inquire about the status of their devices, he added.

The DIRBS will be linked up to the GSMA database, he said.

Samad also said the government had issued policy directives for the launch of 5G cellphone services on which work is currently underway.

What is the DIRBS?

According to ProPakistani, the purpose of the DIRBS is to ensure that non-compliant cellphones are not imported, sold, advertised or connected to cellular networks in order to protect cellphone user data across the country.

"It will further ensure that mobile licensees actively identify such phones on their networks and maintain and update industry-wide database with information about such phones for the benefit of the mobile services sector worldwide," ProPakistani reported.

"Stolen phones, blocked phones, and phones with duplicate or non-standard identifiers shall be blocked by the mobile network operator (MNO) from use in Pakistan," the report added.

According to a PTA press release, subscribers can verify the authenticity of their cellphone devices by sending an SMS to 8484, and can visit www.dirbs.pta.gov.pk or download the DIRBS Android app from the Google Play Store or App Store.

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May 10, 2018 02:45pm

Yeah, give our data access to every company without any restriction and then hope for the best,

Recommend 0

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

May 10, 2018 02:46pm

Too little, too late. Irreparable and irretrievable damages have already been incurred.

Recommend 0

Jamki

May 10, 2018 03:40pm

If we receive celll phone gift from abroad or bring phone to Pakistan: will that be blocked ?

Recommend 0

fairplay

May 10, 2018 03:47pm

this means you cannot give a cellphone as a gift to relatives in pakistan? ridiculous!

Recommend 0

Khan

May 10, 2018 05:31pm

@Jamki: I don't think so. Read the word "non-compliant cellphones" in the article. I don't think any iphone, Samsung or Nokia phone will be a non-compliant cellphone which cannot protect user data.

Recommend 0

Khattak

May 10, 2018 05:33pm

What happens to our phones(expats) who are returning home for couple of weeks? Do I need to pay tax on my phone or it will simply be blocked? Any mechanism for our concerns or just another money grab?

Recommend 0

Ehsan

May 10, 2018 06:09pm

Finally, what took so long.

Recommend 0

Rashid

May 10, 2018 06:18pm

@Jamki: Yes. You have to get NOC from PTA. As part of that you have to provide your CNIC and the phones IMEI number. Then its registered as a legal import. The problem with this system is that anyone can get anyone else's phone blocked by reporting it as stolen. @Khan: This has absolutely nothing to do with user privacy. It is an effort to safeguard the government's revenue from customs duties. Most of the phones sold in Pakistan are from cheap chinese companies that have malware preloaded on them.

Recommend 0

Ayesha K Sadozai

May 10, 2018 07:04pm

PTA seems to have little control over the major Telecom companies. I have been reporting my sister's stolen SIM for blockage to Telenor, first here in Peshawar, then online and also to their head office, to no avail. I also made an email complaint to PTA about non compliance by this firm, but it's 3 weeks and still not even a reply. Total chaos .

Recommend 0

Hugin and Munin

May 10, 2018 08:30pm

I see that many of you have misunderstood the scope of this move. It is a standard service in GSM based networks. When you switch on the phone, your network will authenticate the user. The very first check that is made is to check in the blocked/stolen database. Keeping the database is not mandatory and operators skip this step. It will block phones that have been reported stolen as well as any phones not approved for use. Only the user can block the phone, unless the operators are careless and do not verify the ID of the person reporting. When you bring a phone from abroad either you will have foreign SIM or you will get one locally. The first time this phone is used in Pakistan, it will be checked in he stolen phone database. If the foreign phone has not been reported stolen and the particular make not banned then there is no problem. It had nothing to do with data security, import duties or government making money. In order for it to work, all operators will have to sync the database with global database, so that phones stolen abroad cannot be used in Pakistan.

Recommend 0

Faisal

May 11, 2018 05:46pm

@fairplay no it means you can not gift stolen phone

Recommend 0

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