NEIR activity won’t stop: Faiz Ahmed

Even if mobile phone traders protest, the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) activity will not be stopped, said Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, the Special Assistant to the Principal Advisor on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.

He said this at a press briefing after visiting the BTRC building on Sunday afternoon. Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb also said that the attackers on the BTRC building will be brought to justice.

He said, “The duty rate has been reduced as per the demands of mobile traders. The handsets brought by tax evasion have been given an opportunity to be legalized. Even then, mobile traders are seeking a license to commit crimes by keeping shops closed and blocking roads and creating chaos.”  Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb also said that the NEIR system will remain active to keep customers' handsets safe.

The government officially launched the NEIR activity on January 1. At the same time, the duty on legally imported mobile phones was reduced from 60 percent to 43.4 percent and illegal handsets were also allowed to be brought under the legal framework.

The BTRC office was vandalized that day in protest of this decision. So far, 45 people have been arrested in this incident. Meanwhile, mobile phone traders blocked roads in the capital's Karwan Bazar area Sunday morning in protest of the NEIR activities.

They announced a program demanding the end of the NEIR activities, permission to import old (used) mobile phones, withdrawal of cases against the traders and the release of those arrested. At one stage of the sit-in program, the police used lathicharge, sound grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters.