PTA Seeks Time From NAB For Responding on Issue of Pending Dues From LDI, WLL Companies

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is expected to submit its response to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday, July 29, following its failure to collect arrears from telecom companies. On July 22, NAB Karachi summoned PTA officials along with the records related to non-recovery of arrears from Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and Long Distance International (LDI) companies, resulting in financial losses to the national exchequer. PTA officials did not appear before NAB on July 22, requesting additional time to prepare their reply. NAB has now instructed PTA to submit their response by July 29. PTA officials will present the necessary records and appear before NAB Karachi to respond to questions from the investigation team. NAB has initiated an inquiry into PTA’s failure to recover billions of rupees in dues from telecom companies, based on complaints about the non-recovery of Rs. 78 billion from ten WLL and LDI companies. The inquiry seeks details of outstanding amounts, payment records, correspondence with telecom companies, and internal inquiries related to the case. Sources in PTA told ProPakistani that the delay in recovering the dues occurred because the companies obtained stay orders from the court. With the expiration of these companies’ licenses, all LDI companies have agreed to pay the outstanding basic amount. The Ministry of IT has formed a steering committee to resolve the issue. In a recent meeting chaired by State Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawja, it was emphasized that no relaxation would be given on the recovery of dues. The minister stated that the steering committee’s decision on dues recovery would be final and strictly implemented.