Afghan SIM cards being used in extortion calls
Over 160 Afghan cell phone numbers are being used for making extortion calls
Dunya News Report (Jibran Dost)
Over 160 Afghan cell phone numbers are being used for making extortion calls to people including traders and industrialists in the provincial capital and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Traders, industrialists and other important figures in different parts of the province have been a target of the extortion calls. Those who refuse to pay the money are targeted by assassins and in some cases; the houses of a few who refused to pay extortion money were attacked with bombs. After their refusal, some of the people became victims of target killing too.
On the other hand, the provincial government, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, has not been able to provide security to the public and stop the extortion calls from across the borders.
However, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities had sent a letter to the Interior Ministry last month to consult the issue with the neighbouring Afghan authorities. In addition, they had also sent a complete list of cellular numbers being used by the extortionists from across the border.
“It is requested to take up the matter with the government of Afghanistan through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for dismantling their bases and apprehending the miscreants involved in the menace of extortion,” said the official letter by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Nasir Khan Durrani to the Secretary Ministry of Interior Arif Ahmad Khan.
With regard to Operation Zarb-e-Azb and strong efforts from the police and Counter-Terrorism Department, a prominent 50 per cent decrease has been witnessed in 2015 compared to 2014.
“The problem will persist till the issue of spill-over signals and cross border frequency interference is dealt with. There is a lot of discomfort and insecurity in the business community on account of cross-border extortion calls,” the letter further added.
In January, heavy firing and several blasts were heard when four terrorists entered Bacha Khan University in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda town.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt General Asim Bajwa, the terrorists who carried out the attack were using Afghan SIMs. One of the terrorists was receiving calls from Afghanistan even after he was killed.
The ISPR Chief said that SIM cards and two mobile phones were recovered from the terrorists, which were traced and analyzed. General Bajwa claimed that the terrorists who carried out the attack were getting information from outside and were receiving calls from outside.
A week after the attack, Pakistan expressed its concerns to Afghanistan about the utilization of their land by certain terrorists and required Afghan government’s action against the perpetrators of January 20th attack on Bacha Khan University Charsadda.
The Afghan Charge d’Affaries, Syed Abdul Nasir Yousafi was summoned to Foreign Office to convey Pakistan’s concern about the use of their soil by terrorists in the recent attack.
General Raheel Sharif also called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah and Commander Resolute Special Mission in Afghanistan General John Campbell to share information and communicate that investigations indicated that the Charsadda attack was controlled from Afghanistan by a Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) operative.
The army, however, ensured that Pakistan was not blaming the Afghan government for being part of the assault.
In response, Afghanistan rejected allegations coming from Pakistan and refused the claim of ISPR Director General Asim Bajwa stating that all four terrorists came from Afghanistan and the attack was planned and controlled from Afghanistan.
On the other hand, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) disagreed to the statement that the terrorists who carried out the attack were using Afghan SIMs. PTA officials stated that the attackers were either issued SIMs by Pakistani cellular companies or they were using a satellite phone as it is not possible to use Afghan SIMs in Charsadda.
“It is 100 percent confirmed and has been re-verified that roaming Afghan SIMs in Pakistan areas are not possible as tower-sharing agreements of Afghan cellular companies with Pakistani cellular companies were ‘effectively terminated’ around one year ago,” an official had said.
