All Mobile Phones Brought into the Country illegally After December 31 Will Be Blocked in Pakistan

Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday said that all those mobile phones brought into the country illegally after December 31 will be blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

He said this decision was taken to curb mobile phone smuggling, which is damaging the national economy. In 2017-18, Pakistan imported $847.66 million (Dh3.11 billion) worth of mobile phones. In the previous financial year, Pakistan had imported over $1 billion worth of phones as there was no duty on imports from China due to a free trade agreement and a very small little duty on imports from other countries.