Block sims, social media accounts of unvaccinated people, Pakistan's Sindh govt asks NCOC

In what could be termed as a harsh measure to encourage vaccination, the Pakistan's National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has been asked officially by the regional, Sindh government, to block the mobile phone sims and social media accounts of unvaccinated users on Saturday, a report by The News said.     

The Sindh Government has apprised the national coordinator of the NCOC in a letter about the decision of the blocking of mobile sims. It was taken during the Provincial Corona Task Force meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

The task force recommended sims' blocking in a phased manner. In the first, a warning message will be issued by the government. After it, blocking of social media accounts will be carried out. In the next phase, the outgoing calls will be blocked and, in the end, the SIM will be completely blocked until inoculation.

The letter reads, “It is, therefore, requested that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority be directed to take necessary measures accordingly for a successful vaccination drive to break the transmission chain of COVID-19.”

Earlier, Adviser to Chief Minister Murtaza Wahab had tweeted about the Sindh government's plan to write to the NCOC and the PTA on blocking the sims.

(With inputs from agencies)