Senate panel to be briefed on IT secretary appointment

Khawaja stated that a dispute had been ongoing between PTA and LDI license holders

ISLAMABAD:

Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunications (IT & Telecom) Shaza Fatima Khawaja informed a Senate standing committee on Thursday that the ministry would give a briefing on the proposal for the appointment of the IT & Telecom secretary from the private sector.

The matter was raised by Senator Afnanullah Khan in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on IT & Telecom, chaired by its chairperson Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan. Khan said that there were rumours that the secretary would be appointed for two years with a salary of around Rs2 million.

Khawaja told the committee members that such a proposal had been forwarded by the Establishment Division. However, she added that the IT & Telecom ministry would brief the committee on the matter in the coming weeks.

While discussing the fixed local loop (FLL) and long distance and international (LDI) licences, Khawaja stated that a dispute had been ongoing between the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the LDI license holders.

She added that the dispute pertained to the determination of Access Promotion Contribution for the Universal Service Fund. She said that 30 months before the expiry of the licence in 2024, the PTA issued notices to LDI licence holders that their licences would not be renewed over non-payment of arrears.

The LDI licence holders had acquired stay order from the Sindh High Court (SHC), the committee was informed. The minister of state highlighted that the PTA had taken up the matter with the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) and was looking forward to a possible resolution.

Meanwhile, the committee deliberated on 'The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023', moved by Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan, with the objective of protecting the data of citizens. The officials said that the ministry had consulted with over 100 local and international stakeholders on the matter.