Islamabad, Sep 10: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that a former IT secretary issued an illegal policy directive allowing certain long distance and international (LDI) service providers to pay fees in installments.
Captain (Retired) Muhammad Mehmood, the former IT secretary, was fired after a scandal developed regarding the authorization, which was illegal and outside of his jurisdiction.
The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication convened on Monday to discuss the issues confronting the telecom sector, with Senator Palwasha Khan serving as its chairman.
The possibility of giving LDI businesses a tax cut of Rs. 54 billion was also explored.
However, representatives of the IT ministry distanced themselves from the former secretary’s decision.
The committee’s chairwoman questioned the legality of the ex-secretary’s policy order.
The IT ministry’s member legal said that he was on vacation at the time and that he had not been consulted about the policy directive. On the other hand, member telecom stated that there was pressure to expedite the file.
The PTA chairman briefed the Senate panel on the subject, pointing out that the former IT secretary had issued a policy order that went beyond his jurisdiction and that the cabinet had also discussed the problem.
He disclosed that, despite some of the corporations’ filing lawsuits, five LDI companies were prepared to pay the necessary sum.
