The appointment of Director General (DG) Law & Regulations, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
According to the details, the petition, which was accepted by the court, claims that the qualifications and experience criteria for the appointment were not followed in accordance with the PTA Employees Service Regulations.
According to the petition filed in the Islamabad High Court, the prescribed age for the position of DG Law is between 32 and 45 years, with at least 8 to 10 years of experience as a High Court or Supreme Court advocate, or an LLB/Bar-at-Law qualification with first class.
The petition, filed by Nayatel, claims that PTA’s DG Law failed to meet any of the above-mentioned requirements because he lacks a law degree and legal experience, both of which were advertised for the position.
It states that the PTA contends that the requirements for DG Law were relaxed because the candidate held a public office, and thus the service regulations were irrelevant.
It is worth noting that the current DG Law was appointed to PTA in July 2019. While the petition was only filed this week and may take some time to resolve, if the appointment is deemed illegal, all decisions made by the PTA’s DG Law may be jeopardized.
It is worth noting that the PTA is in charge of the PKR 550 billion-a-year telecom industry, and any consequences of a decision against the regulator could be massive in both volume and impact.
The Petitioner, Nayatel, a telecom company and PTA licensee, submitted to the IHC that it has a right to expect the PTA to spend regulatory fees paid by the Petitioner wisely on the appointment of competent persons based on merit rather than posting ineligible persons in key positions. Such an act could have a significant impact on the quality of the regulatory process.
Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC requested that PTA share its response on the matter and adjourned the hearing until March 15, 2022.
To read our blog on “PTA formulates a legal framework for short-range devices and terrestrial IoT services,” click here.
