Officials at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology have announced the establishment of a new system for managing the registration of SIM cards for the country’s telecommunications networks.
Enayatullah Alokozay, the spokesperson for this ministry, said that the new system has been developed in collaboration with the National Statistics Office and the ATRA (Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority), and its implementation has begun nationwide.
Alokozai also mentioned that with the introduction of this system, no one will be able to register a SIM card with a fake ID.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology further explained: “The Systems Department of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has created an advanced system for telecommunications networks and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to prevent fraud in the registration of SIM cards. According to this system, the identity of the telecom network customer is verified through the National Statistics Office, after which the registration process proceeds.”
Some residents of Kabul welcomed the creation and implementation of such a system, calling it beneficial in preventing the misuse of SIM cards.
Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Kabul, told a TOLOnews reporter: “Such a system for the distribution of SIM cards is a very good initiative because it will prevent fraud, criminal activities, murders, and, in general, thousands of security problems.”
Ajmal, another resident of Kabul, said: “It’s a very positive step. Some people misuse a SIM card; this initiative is very good for everyone.”
According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, previously, SIM cards were registered with electronic IDs, but the ID was not verified.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology also reported that there are currently 25 million active SIM cards in the country, 10 million of which have been registered based on electronic IDs.