The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has ordered all mobile operators to follow a uniform policy on SIM expiry and prepaid balance validity.
The new rules will take effect from October 1, 2026. They require telecom companies to provide at least 180 days of validity for any prepaid recharge or balance amount.
The PTA issued the direction after receiving multiple complaints about unused prepaid balances. Consumers particularly raised concerns about practices at Zong and Telenor Pakistan.
Read More: PTA to Block SIM Cards Linked to Expired or Invalid CNICs
Telenor Pakistan has since been acquired by PTCL and is being combined with Ufone operations.
A senior PTA official said subscribers wanted their remaining prepaid balance to stay available throughout the active life of their SIM.
“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 other issue was that they did not carry over the balance amount after the next recharge,” the official said.
Expired Balance Must Return After Recharge
Under the PTA determination, operators must give every recharge or balance amount a minimum validity of 180 days.
If a balance expires during the active life of a SIM, the operator cannot permanently confiscate it.
Instead, the company must automatically restore that expired balance when the subscriber makes another recharge. The customer can then use both the restored amount and the new recharge.
The regulator based the requirement on the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations.
PTA also warned operators against unfair commercial practices while implementing the new policy.
The complaints had focused on the financial loss caused when companies deducted unused balance after its validity period ended. Customers also objected when operators refused to adjust that amount against later recharges.
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According to the complaints, these practices place a heavier financial burden on low-income consumers.
The issue has broad implications because prepaid customers dominate Pakistan’s mobile market.
PTA noted that around 97% of mobile subscribers across Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan use prepaid connections.
PTA has previously intervened in prepaid charging practices. In earlier guidance, the regulator required mobile operators to clearly communicate applicable charges and taxes to consumers.
Jazz Explains SIM Expiry and Recycling Policy
Dawn reported that Zong and the merged Ufone/Telenor company did not respond to questions about the issue.
Jazz, however, explained its existing SIM lifecycle policy.
A Jazz official said the active period of a SIM lasts 90 days. A further 180-day quarantine period follows.
“After that, the recycling of the SIM is allowed,” the official said.
Recycling means the operator can eventually issue the same mobile number to another subscriber.
Jazz also applies a longer policy for some dormant numbers.
The official said a SIM can remain dormant for up to 720 days before the company fully recycles it.
Read More: PTA Stops Mobile Operators From Increasing Monthly Package Prices
“But after this period, a dormant SIM is allowed to be totally recycled, and the previous owner can no longer claim any rights over the recycled SIM,” the official said.
The distinction between SIM validity and balance validity is important.
The new PTA determination focuses on ensuring that operators cannot impose excessively short validity periods on prepaid balances. It also protects unused money from permanent loss while the SIM remains active.
New Policy Takes Effect October 1
PTA has directed all three telecom operators to implement the same minimum balance-validity framework from October 1.
The decision means prepaid users should receive at least 180 days to use money added through a recharge.
More importantly, an expired balance must not disappear permanently if the subscriber’s SIM remains within its active life.
A later recharge must make the previous expired amount available again, according to the regulator’s determination.
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The measure aims to end different balance-expiry practices across operators and provide the same basic protection to prepaid subscribers.
It also gives consumers clearer rights when money remains unused after a recharge validity period expires.
With prepaid users accounting for almost the entire mobile subscriber base, the new policy could affect millions of consumers when it takes effect in October.
