KARACHI, Jan 1: The mobile phone tracking system was formally inaugurated on Saturday at the Electronic Market in Saddar which coincided with the lifting of a 10-day ban on the trading in used cell phone sets.

The mobile phone tracking system is based on a computer software which has been designed by a private firm and aimed at registering all cell phone sets. Under the system, the international manufacturer equipment identification (IMEI) number of a set is fed in the computer data to keep a track of the sale/purchase of the registered set.

The provincial government had imposed a ban on the trading in used mobile phone sets following a remarkable surge in the snatching and theft of cell phones over the past few months. It was noticed that the stolen sets could freely be sold in the city markets.

Inaugurating the tracking system and the office of the monitoring cell, MPA Syed Shakir Ali appreciated the initiative jointly taken by the Karachi Electronics Dealers Association and the city police, and hoped that the system would help streamline the cell phone business.

The registration of mobile phone sets would help check the growing incidents of cell phone theft and snatching, city police chief Tariq Jamil said, and added that after the introduction of the system, the seller of a stolen phone set could be identified on the spot. He also appreciated the initiative and said that traders' associations could be helpful in controlling crime by inventing modern methods and extending cooperation to the police.

The KEDA President, Waheed Memon, said that shopkeepers and dealers were now supposed to fill in a form, already provided to them, while buying or selling a used cell phone set. This would legalize the deal, he added. He assured people that the personalized information in the database would not be leaked out to the income tax department or any other government agency.

A mobile phone user intending to sell his set has been advised to fill in a form having the columns like name of the seller, CNIC number, make and model of the set, IMEI number, buyer's name and seal, etc. The form also contains a warning that the KEDA will not support a dealer who would resort to providing wrong information in the form. The buyer of a used mobile set is supposed to tally the IMEI number of the set he intends to buy with the numbers shown in the database to ensure that it was not illegally acquired by the seller.

The web-based software has been evolved by a private company dealing in branded cell phone sets. The form meant for general public has been made available on the website (m:track). The IMEI number to be entered in the form can be retrieved from a GSM set by pressing *#06#.

A complaint with regard to the theft/snatching/lost of a phone set may be lodged on the same website through which one may also verify a set he intends to buy.

People have been advised to immediately lodge a complaint after losing a mobile set. Besides visiting the website for the purpose, one may dial 2743390 to 2743392 or Madadgar 15 to seek help.

Meanwhile, the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) has also evolved a software to keep a check on snatching of mobile phone sets. CPLC representatives hope that it would be launched on Monday.