KATHMANDU: Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has instructed concerned authorities not to implement the decision of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority to block mobile phones brought from abroad without customs declaration.

The Nepal Telecommunication Authority earlier said the mobile phones brought from abroad without customs declaration would be blocked from today.

PM Dahal’s press coordinator Surya Kiran Sharma said that Prime Minister Prachanda instructed the Finance Minister not to immediately implement the decision.

The Nepal Telecommunication Authority earlier asked mobile users to register their phones in the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) to make the phones fully operational from today.

The Authority claims that the system is being put into operation with the aim of discouraging the use of mobile phones that are illegally imported by evading customs.

The Authority had issued a public notice for the past one week and said that any unregistered mobile phone usage will be banned from today.