ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has directed all mobile operators to implement a uniform policy on SIM expiry and recharge amounts, following complaints that two carriers were violating consumer protection rules.
The directive requires that any prepaid balance remain valid for a minimum of 180 days and that expired balances be reinstated upon a subsequent recharge during the SIM’s active life, according to a determination issued by the regulator.
Consumers had lodged complaints against Zong and Telenor Pakistan, which has since been acquired by PTCL, alleging that the companies demanded customers maintain a minimum balance even while the SIM was active and that unused balances were not carried over after recharges, a senior PTA official said.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in exercise of its mandate to protect consumer interest and promote the availability of affordable telecommunication services, has implemented minimum balance validity period of one hundred and eighty (180) days for recharge /… pic.twitter.com/3XbyvmERR6
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) August 27, 2026
“The complaints were that these two companies demanded that consumers maintain a certain amount of balance even during the active period of the SIMs, failing which the SIMs were eventually cancelled,” the official said. “The other issue was that they did not carry over the balance amount after the next recharge.”
According to telecom officials, the active period for a SIM is 90 days, followed by a 180-day quarantine period. After that, recycling of the SIM is permitted, meaning ownership can be transferred.
The PTA said it received multiple complaints from subscribers about the forfeiture of unused prepaid balances upon expiry, and that such practices disproportionately affected low-income users. Prepaid subscribers account for about 97% of the market in Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, the authority noted.
The new policy takes effect Oct. 1. Telecom operators are prohibited from engaging in unfair commercial practices in implementing the decision, the PTA said.
