You will no longer be able to use smuggled or lost and found phones in Pakistan

If your cousin, brother, sister or any other relative is bringing a phone in Pakistan that they found to be unusually cheap in UK or USA or any other part of the world, chances are that phone will not work in Pakistan.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is set to launch the Mobile Devices Identification, Registration and Blocking Regulations System (DRIBS) in Pakistan.

Using this system, PTA will be able to detect any lost and stolen or smuggled phones brought from other countries in Pakistan and effectively block them.

Once blocked, the phones will no longer receive any signals from cellular companies unless and until the user can prove that the phone legally belongs to them.

For many years, mobile sellers in Pakistan have imported cheap phones that they got their hands on in other countries. Usually, these phones are either marked lost or stolen and are effectively banned in the country of origin or in many other countries where the DRIBS system is live.

Before DRIBS in Pakistan, any phone flagged lost or stolen would easily work in the country simply by unlocking the phone using various methods. This will no longer work now.

PTA will maintain a very complex database which will analyze and verify IMEI numbers, registration of IMEI paired exceptions and import of various inputs including the GSMA device database, operator device data dumps, stolen device lists, and importer device list.

Cellular companies are also going to be included in this system. They will be responsible for checking all the device numbers on their networks and if they match the database of stolen phones, they will immediately cut off the phone from the network.

The DRIBS system will also prevent dubious mobile sellers from selling refurbished, lost and stolen phones acquired through illegal means. From now on you’ll always find phones in the market that will never be marked stolen or lost because you’ll immediately know if they are.

For people who lose their phone in Pakistan, they will also easily be able to block their lost or stolen phones by contacting PTA’s helpline.

From now on, make sure you buy your phones from authenticated sellers. All the websites listed in our database sell authentic mobile phones with complete warranties and guarantees. Make sure to check and compare their prices here.