Demand for smuggled phones thrives in AJK, GB

The non-implementation of the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) has thrived the usage of smuggled sets in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan region, a source in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) told Dawn on Tuesday. Unlike the rest of the country, the key mobile phone operator in AJK & GB region is the Special Communications Organisation (SCOM), which is owned by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, and the DIRBS does not apply to its connections. DIRBS is designed to identify non-compliant devices operating on local mobile networks — Jazz, Ufone, Telenor and Zong4G. It automatically registers compliant devices operating on mobile networks and eventually blocks non-compliant devices.