Non-Karachiites barred from selling mobile phones in Karachi

KARACHI: In a bid to stem the snatching of mobile phones in Karachi, the police with the support of Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA) have decided to bar any non-Karachiite from selling the mobile device in the city, ARY NEWS reported.

The decision has been made after consultation between top police and CPLC officials in the wake of rising street crime incidents in the city that have also resulted in the loss of many precious lives.

Sharing details of the decision, an office-bearer of the Karachi Electronic Market Association Minhaj Gulfam confirmed that KEDA has devised SOPs with the support of police and CPLC and now, the person selling mobile phone would need to have a Karachi address on CNIC.

“Without verification of the CNIC, no shopkeeper in the city will buy the mobile phone,” he said and added, “All mobile dealers will be bound to follow the SOPs.”

He further shared that anyone having a residential address other than Karachi will be required to bring a guarantor whose CNIC bore an address in Karachi.

He shared that the mobile dealers have cooperated with police and so far they had handed over snatched mobile phones worth over Rs180 million to the authorities. “The phones were then returned to the citizens,” he said.

Read More: HERE IS HOW E-TAGGING OF STREET CRIME SUSPECTS WILL WORK IN KARACHI

The police have taken multiple measures recently to stem street crime incidents in the city and recently, they have prepared a draft law for e-tagging of street criminals with Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon saying that 11,000 suspects will be placed under electronic monitoring.

According to the draft law prepared by AIG Karachi, this will be the first time the police will use the technology in Pakistan and anyone found involved in repeating a crime will be monitored for two years through e-tagging.