Tarana now says SIM re-registration not for everyone

The government alters its decision on re-registration of mobile phone connection that was scheduled to start on Sunday following a couple of meetings with the Election Commission (EC) and mobile operators today.

Now the government has decided to verify the subscriber database of all mobile operators with the EC's national identification (NID) database and find out the connections that are not properly registered.

Operators will then send SMS to the fake registered numbers and ask them to go for re-registration, said officials.

"We have relaxed our decision to reduce the citizens' hassle," State Minister of Telecommunication Division Tarana Halim told the press.

Earlier on Wednesday Tarana Halim said re-registration and verification of mobile SIM cards will begin on September 13 and the process will continue for three months. Without a re-registration, a SIM will be blocked.

"I have no doubt that it is mandatory for ensuring security. We have received much criticism and people do not seem to be taking it seriously so, we decided to relax the process," Tarana added.