The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has stated that it does not have the authority to prohibit the importation or smuggling of iPhones and other mobile devices manufactured in India.
This statement comes in reaction to an advisory issued by the Cabinet Division, which identified Indian-manufactured iPhones as a possible cyber security risk to Pakistan.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) highlighted in its announcement that, under the Import Order 2022, the importation of all products from India into Pakistan is prohibited. Additionally, Indian-manufactured iPhones and other mobile devices are blacklisted and cannot be officially registered in Pakistan.
The PTA has also indicated that it places a blacklist on the Type Allocation Code (TAC) designated to India by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), thereby obstructing the registration of Indian devices within Pakistan’s Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS).
The telecommunications regulatory authority has explicitly stated that it lacks the legal power to oversee the sales and purchases of mobile phones within the market. A spokesperson for the authority remarked, “The responsibility for preventing the importation or smuggling of Indian-manufactured mobile devices lies with customs and other pertinent agencies, rather than the PTA.”
The authority emphasized that its responsibilities are confined to ensuring adherence to technical standards as stipulated in the Telecommunications (Re-Organization) Act 1996 and the Terminal Device Type Approval Technical Regulation 2021.
The PTA has further elucidated that it does not provide a whitelist for any iPhones or other mobile devices produced in India. Additionally, it has been confirmed that terminal devices manufactured in India are ineligible for registration in Pakistan via DIRBS, thereby rendering it unfeasible for these phones to be legally activated with local SIM cards.
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