Govt plans phone companies’ role in terror watch

The Federal government is planning to take strategic help from the cell phone companies in watch and surveillance of “telephonic communications” among terrorist networks and non-state actors in the country, sources in Interior Ministry told The Post.The officials revealed that in the first stage the phone companies are linking all Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) and cell phone users with the verification system of National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to stop possible communication through non-registered cell phone SIMs.“While in the second stage the phone companies will be playing more responsible role by helping the government and the agencies to monitor the “communications” of the “suspicious persons” on the reports of the agencies”.They added that the phone companies will be asked to make a new “Terror Surveillance Wing” to monitor the phonic communications like it is done in USA to help dismantle the terror networks.“It is hoped that this step of the government will prove a fatal blow for the terrorists who live and move in our neighborhoods close to us and communicate with their “hidden masterminds” before execution of deadly bomb blasts or suicide attacks”, an Interior Ministry official said seeking anonymity.According to the sources, it was the background in which the Telecom Authority (PTA) and other private mobile phone companies were directed in 2008 to register all un-verified SIMs and block non-registered SIMs users across the country.It has been learnt that that in near future NADRA is going to play a pivotal role inidentity verification system besides it will help on many fronts like control on flow of black money in banks and tracing the anti-state players who are threat to the country in the wake of the war on terror.“The phone companies will be paid for the surveillance and monitoring service to the State of and this way the cellular revolutions help probe heinous crimes and terrorist activists in the country,” the senior official added.The Post has learnt that the SIM card is the heart of a mobile phone and if it is used scientifically it can provide bio-data of its users with a record of all received calls and the dialed numbers along with the details of text messages.While talking to The Post the officials stressed that with the boost in telecom sector caused a boost in terrorists activist as the commutations and networks was facilitated by the un-registered cell phones.The sources said that security agencies at the moment believe that they can not control suicide bomb blasts but suicide blasts leave no clue for police and agencies because there is no system to trace the terrorists before they come to explode themselves at public places.They said that all phones are not yet registered with the NADA verifications system and once it is done the things will changes giving an edge to the security agencies in chasing terrorists before they execute their plans.The millions of people use mobile phones in the country at the moment and security agencies needs support phone companies to beat the non-state actors. The officials said that in the coming days the phone companies will be asked to restrict number of SIMs issued to the subscribers of the five phone companies.It has been learnt that at the moment a subscriber can get as many connections/ SIMs as he/she wants from any phone company and this trend may create difficulties for verification of SIMS cards from the NADRA’s system.The phone companies remain reluctant to close or block the SIMs if a SIM is not used even for years and subscribers are being encouraged to buy more and more SIMS at cheap rates due to the competitions in cellular companies in the market.
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