ISLAMABAD: Since the board of directors did not own the company, the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT & Telecom questioned the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd.’s (PTCL) right to sell its properties.
The largest state-owned telecom company was asked to respond to a number of questions by the committee meeting in Parliament House. Among these were the board’s authority under the sale purchase agreement (SPA) between Etisalat and the Government of Pakistan.
Committee chair Syed Aminul Haque presented the PTCL CEO and representatives from the Ministry of IT & Telecom with an advertising.
The PTCL executive responded that no property had been sold because the necessary price was not offered, despite the ad asking for bids to buy a number of the organization’s properties.
lashes out at Etisalat for not giving SPA
The PML-N’s Mukhtar Ahmad Malik questioned, “What was the intention behind floating this advertisement to sell the properties?” when the committee members were annoyed by the response.
“You do not share the SPA, and for three months you have been telling this parliamentary committee that the procurement policy will be submitted – why is everything being delayed?” he said, criticizing the PTCL for failing to deliver on their promises made in the committee.
In a kind manner, Mr. Haque inquired as to whether the SPA permitted the firm board to sell the assets and, if so, how many.
The committee members examined the minutes of the previous meeting, in which the PTCL disclosed that the Government of Pakistan owned 62% of the company’s shares, Etisalat owned 26% of the company along with management rights, and the stock exchange had 12 percent of the company’s shares.
The PTCL claimed that they did not have the answers since they were not technical experts after being grilled by committee members for failing to provide the answers to questions posed during the prior hearing.
The PTCL officials were instructed by the committee chair to address all of the questions at the following meeting.
VPN blocking
Sher Ali Arbab and Omer Ayub criticized the government for its ongoing internet slowing and its plans to soon ban VPNs.
They called for the PTA and the IT ministry officials who have been lying in the committee to be held accountable under the Committee Rules.
By the end of August, they assured the committee, internet speed would return to normal. Mr. Ayub, who attended the committee via a digital link, stated, “Later, it was the end of October, and we still face it; some said that VPN usage was degrading the internet.”
PTA member compliance Dr. Khawar Siddique informed the committee that internet speed was typical in the nation and that there was no correlation between VPN use and speed.
