Pak govt asks NCOC to block SIM cards, social media accounts of unvaccinated people

Gulf Today Report

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis are thronging coronavirus vaccination centres daily after officials announced penalties for the unvaccinated as the government has announced that it will be blocking the mobile services of citizens who refuse to take the coronavirus jab.

Initially reported by local media and then later confirmed by the Punjab health authority that "mobile SIMs of people not getting vaccinated may be blocked, it was decided in a Cabinet meeting under the chair of Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid at the Civil Secretariat," the Punjab government said in a tweet last month.

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The government added it was launching a walk-in vaccination service for anyone over the age of 18 years. There are currently 677 vaccination centres operating in Punjab.

The move was in response to measures designed to help slow a Delta variant-fuelled surge in infections that has put pressure on Pakistan's poor health infrastructure as queues for inoculations stretched more than a kilometre in some locations this week.

A police officer calls on residents with their registration numbers outside a vaccination facility in Karachi. Reuters

According to a report in a section of the local media, the Sindh government also officially asked the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to block the SIMs and social media accounts of unvaccinated mobile phone users.

The Sindh Government informed in a letter to the national coordinator of the NCOC about the decision of the blocking of mobile SIMs taken during the Provincial Corona Task Force meeting, held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

The letter also mentioned, “It is, therefore, requested that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority be directed to take necessary measures accordingly for a successful vaccination drive to break the transmission chain of COVID-19.”

In a country that has a long anti-vaccination history, health workers said many in line were more afraid of the restrictions – some started Aug. 1 while others kick in on Aug. 30 – than the health threat of COVID-19.

Residents gather for vaccine, after government warned of penalties for the unvaccinated in Karachi. Reuters

"I'm personally not scared of corona," said banker Abdul Rauf as he stood in a queue at a vaccination centre in southern Karachi, with his mask down to chin.

"Our salaries will be stopped, our SIMs will be blocked, so all these things are out there, so that's why I got my second dose done."

Pakistan's federal government announced late last month it would ban staff from entering public offices, schools, restaurants, transport, shopping malls and air travel without vaccination certificates.

The announcement prompted an immediate rise in vaccination rates, which hit one million a day last week.

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Anecdotal reports suggested some businesses had already begun restrictions on service.

"We were denied McDonald's at a rest area on a motorway if we couldn't show a text message to prove that we are vaccinated," said Moiz Raja, who travelled from Islamabad to eastern Lahore city last week.