How We Work
Editorial Standards
Last reviewed: 5 August 2026. These editorial standards explain how CnicSimInfo finds, checks and corrects everything it publishes. The short version: named sources only, two sources for each statistic, a date on every claim, and open corrections.
On this page
1. Our Editorial Standards & Mission
CnicSimInfo has one job. We show people in Pakistan how to check the SIMs on their own CNIC. The methods we teach are official and legal. That work starts with our main guide, Check SIM Owner Details Pakistan, and these editorial standards govern all of it. The rule behind these editorial standards is simple. Every fact must trace back to a named source a reader can go and read. We never trade accuracy for traffic.
2. Sourcing Policy
Our editorial standards put official and primary sources first. That means PTA notices and short-code lists, plus NADRA advisories. It also means rulings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the PECA 2016 statute, PKCERT and the NCCIA. Named Pakistani news outlets such as Dawn come next. We do not lean on crowd-edited or second-hand summaries as a sole source. A page with no author and no date cannot be named. So we will not build a claim on it.
3. Fact-Checking Process
Under these editorial standards, nothing goes live until it has been checked against an official source. That applies to each code, fee, date, statistic and legal claim on the site. A claim resting on one weak source is held back until a second source backs it up.
Each claim faces four questions:
- Who says so? We need a named body or a named outlet, not a screenshot doing the rounds on WhatsApp.
- When was it said? The date goes into the visible text, not just into our notes.
- Is it still true? Older rules are re-read against the newest PTA notice, not just copied forward.
- Does a second source agree? Each statistic needs two. One thin source is not enough to publish.
The fact-card images on our guides are drawn from these same verified claims, and each one carries the date it was true as of. Because they are sourced that way, we let anyone republish them free, even commercially, under our image use policy, provided the card is unaltered and carries visible credit and a link back.
4. Our Accuracy Advantage
Our edge is what we leave out. These editorial standards reject the fake claims that spread on rival sites. That means made-up “advisories”, wrong penalty figures, SIM-limit numbers that drift from page to page, and numbers nobody can source. The test is easy to apply: when the same “fact” turns up as a different number on every site repeating it, we treat it as fabricated and leave it out. Those rejected claims are not wasted, though. They become dated entries on our SIM myths fact-check page, each with the reason it failed.
5. Authorship & Expertise
One person writes and edits this site: Muhammad Hamza, founder and editor of CnicSimInfo. The editorial standards on this page are his working rules, not decoration. He follows Pakistan’s telecom and identity rules closely and reads the PTA and NADRA notices himself. The how-to steps come from hands-on use of the official methods, not from other blogs. Articles carry a byline that links to the About page.
6. Review & Update Cadence
These editorial standards require a review of the whole guide at least once a quarter. Rule changes get their own dated entry in our PTA SIM news changelog. Each page shows a “last reviewed” date near the top. Codes, fees and SIM rules move faster than a quarter. Those are updated as soon as an official change is confirmed. We do not wait for the next review.
7. Corrections Policy
Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it. Use the Contact page and send three things:
- The URL of the page where you saw the claim.
- The exact line, code or number you think is wrong.
- A source we can read, if you have one.
We check each report in good faith against these editorial standards. Confirmed errors are fixed quickly. A substantive correction is noted in the open, not edited away in silence.
8. Independence & Ad Disclosure
Advertising never decides what we publish; the editorial standards do. The site runs Google AdSense. Ads are clearly labelled and kept separate from the editorial text. No advertiser sees a page before readers do. We sell no data. We run no paid-lookup buttons, and we take no cut for sending you to one.
9. What We Will Not Publish
Under these editorial standards, some things never appear here, whatever traffic they would bring. The list is short, and it does not move:
- Any help with looking up a stranger’s SIM, CNIC or identity data.
- Third-party “enter any number” lookup tools.
- Dark-web links, paid-data links, or buttons that lead to them.
- Numbers we cannot source, plus fake advisories and made-up penalties.
The first item is more than house policy. Under Section 16 of PECA 2016, obtaining or using another person’s identity information without lawful authority is an offence. It can bring up to three years in prison, a fine of up to Rs 5,000,000, or both.
AI assistance, disclosed
AI tools help us draft. They never decide what is true. Every number, date, code and legal claim is checked by the editor against its named source before it goes live. Nothing on this site is auto-published, ever. When a tool tidies up a sentence, these editorial standards still decide what that sentence is allowed to say. If a claim cannot be traced to a statute, a regulator, a court or the named national press, it does not run. The same rule built our public list of fabrications that spread elsewhere, from invented advisories to penalties no law contains.
The verification ladder
In these editorial standards, sources rank in a fixed order, and the higher rung wins:
- 1. The law itself: the statute itself, read in the original text.
- 2. Regulator documents: notices and advisories from PTA, NADRA, the NCCIA and PKCERT.
- 3. Court orders: for example, a Supreme Court ruling.
- 4. Named national press: Dawn, Express Tribune, Geo, ProPakistani and Profit.
- 5. Operator pages: used only for that operator’s own codes and services.
A statistic needs two independent rungs of that ladder before we print it. Every claim carries its date. Anything that fails the ladder gets a verdict on our myths page instead of a citation.
Editorial standards in practice: two worked examples
Editorial standards are easy to write. Here are two of them doing actual work on live pages.
A code we corrected. A shortened form of the Ufone biometric check code was doing the rounds online. On its own, it does not do the job. PTA’s own post shows the full string. So we changed the page to *336*1# and flagged it on our biometric verification guide. That correction went live on 11 July 2026.
A number we dated. This paragraph used to stop at 204.771 million active SIMs, PTA’s figure for the end of February 2026. As of June 2026, PTA’s telecom indicators put the total at 208,057,255. Neither figure was ever wrong; the older one simply aged, which is why the month always travels with the number here. A reader who can see the date can judge how fresh it is. A number with no date is not a fact. It is just noise.
One limit is worth stating plainly. CnicSimInfo is an independent guide, not PTA, NADRA or any government body. We explain the official rules and the official methods. We do not run them, and nothing here is legal advice.
Why re-check every quarter, not once a year?
Because Pakistan’s SIM rules moved three times inside seven weeks. A 19 May 2026 order stopped new SIM sales between midnight and 6am, a PTA advisory of 24 May 2026 locked new SIMs against disowning or transfer for 365 days, and Telenor Pakistan folded into PTML on 1 July 2026. Quarterly is the slowest cadence these editorial standards can defend; dated changes reach the changelog within days.
Do advertisers or networks influence what gets published?
No. Ads are served and labelled separately from the text, and no advertiser sees a page before readers do. No page here has been written to please a network. The clearest proof is our archive of pieces that name and take apart the lookup-site industry. That is the easiest money in this niche, and we turn it down.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How does CnicSimInfo verify its facts?
Our editorial standards mean every code, fee, date and legal claim is checked against a named official source before it goes live. Those sources are PTA, NADRA, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the PECA 2016 statute, PKCERT and the NCCIA. A statistic needs two independent sources. A claim we cannot trace to one of them stays off the page.
Who writes and reviews the content?
Muhammad Hamza writes and edits the content. He is the founder and editor of CnicSimInfo, and he follows Pakistan’s telecom and identity rules closely. He reads the PTA and NADRA notices himself rather than copying other blogs. Each article carries his byline and links to the About page.
How often is the guide updated?
The whole guide is reviewed at least quarterly. Codes, fees and SIM rules change fast. Those are updated as soon as an official change is confirmed, not at the next review. Dated entries for rule changes go into the PTA SIM news changelog, and each page shows its own last-reviewed date.
What happens when two sources disagree?
We hold the claim back until the higher-ranking source settles it. CnicSimInfo ranks sources in a fixed order: the statute, then PTA and NADRA documents, then court orders, then named national press. A regulator notice outweighs a news report, and the statute outweighs both. Where nothing official closes the gap, the claim stays off the page and gets a verdict on our myths page instead.