SIM Sales Banned From Midnight to 6 am in Pakistan, and a New SIM Cannot Be Disowned for a Year
PTA's May 2026 amendment bars SIM sales, activation and duplicates from 12 am to 6 am, and bars disowning a new SIM for one year. See what it means for you.
Short answer: Under PTA's May 2026 amendment, no SIM may be sold, issued, activated or re-issued between 12:00 am and 6:00 am. A new SIM also cannot be disowned in its first year, except that duplicates are exempt. After one year, the operator must finish disowning within 24 hours of your request and a biometric check.
A man in Karachi loses his phone at midnight and walks to a franchise for a duplicate SIM before his bank sends a code. The shop is open, but the system will not issue it. That is not a fault. It is a PTA rule that has been in the Gazette since 11 May 2026.
We read the amendment on PTA's regulations page. It is the Subscriber Antecedents Verification (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notified as S.R.O. 857(I)/2026 and dated 6 April 2026. The text below follows that notification. It is a scanned Gazette page, so we read both pages as images.
No SIM can be sold or re-issued between midnight and 6 am
The rule bars any sale, issuance, activation or re-issuance of a SIM between 12:00 am and 6:00 am. The Authority can change the hours from time to time. A franchise that is open at 2 am still cannot do it.
The word re-issuance matters. A lost SIM replaced by a duplicate is a re-issuance, so a night-time duplicate is covered too. Activation is also listed, so a SIM bought at 11:50 pm cannot be switched on at 12:10 am.
If you lose a SIM at night, the first job is not the duplicate. It is to protect the number, as explained in how to block a lost SIM. The duplicate can wait until 6 am.
Only a seller with a Unique ID may sell a SIM
Operators may sell SIMs only through their own service outlets, registered and authorised franchisees or agents, or authorised current employees. The amendment adds that only a holder of a Unique ID may sell. The operator assigns and manages the ID.
This ties each sale to a named seller. When a SIM is issued without your knowledge, as in the fines PTA imposed in July, the Unique ID shows who sold it. The wider story of the fines and the other new rules is in the new SIM card rules page.
We did not find on PTA's page what the Unique ID looks like or where a customer can see it. Do not assume a printed receipt shows it.
A new SIM cannot be disowned in its first year
Regulation 12-A now says no SIM shall be disowned within one year of the date a new SIM was activated, or another period the Authority sets. After that, the operator must complete the disowning within 24 hours of your request and a successful biometric check.
Disowning means telling the operator that a SIM registered on your CNIC is not yours, so it is removed from your name. It is the fix for a number you never asked for. The first-year bar changes how that works for a SIM that is less than a year old.
A duplicate SIM is treated differently. The regulation says the one-year check does not apply to duplicates. So a replacement SIM can be disowned at once, even if the original number is older or newer.
The year counts from activation, not from the purchase date. A SIM bought in January and switched on in March has its year start in March.
| Action | Between 12 am and 6 am | In the first year | After one year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy or activate a new SIM | Barred | Allowed in daytime | Allowed in daytime |
| Duplicate or re-issued SIM | Barred | Allowed in daytime | Allowed in daytime |
| Disown a new SIM | Not stated | Barred | Done within 24 hours, with biometric check |
| Disown a duplicate SIM | Not stated | Allowed, no one-year check | Done within 24 hours, with biometric check |
What to do when you need to disown a SIM you did not ask for
Start with what is on your CNIC, then report anything unknown. The one-year bar is written for SIMs that were activated properly. A SIM issued without your consent is a fraud report, not a normal disowning.
- Send your CNIC number to 668 and list every number registered to you.
- Mark the numbers you do not recognise and the date each was registered.
- Report the unknown numbers using the unknown SIM report steps.
- For a SIM you bought yourself and want gone, wait until it is a year old, then ask the operator to disown it with a fingerprint check.
- Plan SIM tasks in separate sittings, because the buffer between SIM requests on one CNIC still applies.
A related caution: some pages say a SIM cannot be transferred for 365 days. The regulation we read uses the word disowned. We found no transfer bar in this notification, so ask the operator about transfers before you buy a recently activated SIM. The steps for a transfer are in changing SIM ownership.
Common questions
Can I get a duplicate SIM at night?
No. A duplicate is a re-issuance, and PTA bars re-issuance between 12:00 am and 6:00 am. Block the lost SIM first, then get the duplicate after 6 am.
Can I disown a SIM I bought last month?
Not under regulation 12-A. A SIM cannot be disowned within one year of activation. A duplicate SIM is the exception. Ask the operator if your SIM was a duplicate.
How fast must an operator disown a SIM after one year?
It must complete the disowning within 24 hours of your request and a successful biometric verification. Keep the receipt or complaint number as your proof of the date.
Does the night ban cover online or app activation?
The text bars any sale, issuance, activation or re-issuance in those hours without limiting it to shops. We did not test an app. Ask the operator before relying on it.
Who is allowed to sell a SIM now?
Operators' own outlets, registered franchisees or agents, and authorised current employees. Only a holder of a Unique ID assigned by the operator may sell.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 13 October 2026, Pakistan time. We read the Gazette entry for the Subscriber Antecedents Verification (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on PTA's regulations page. We could not confirm whether the night ban applies to app or online activation, what the Unique ID looks like, or whether PTA has changed the hours since. We did not visit a franchise at night to test the rule.
About the author
Technology Journalist & Multimedia Producer
Ahmad Ali is a technology journalist and multimedia producer at Pakistan Era, joining the team in October 2026. He covers consumer technology and digital life for Pakistani readers, combining research with hands-on product testing.
