The caretaker federal government is considering bringing an ordinance for setting up a telecom tribunal.
Sources in the IT Ministry told ProPakistani that the decision to set up the Telecom Tribunal has been taken due to the large number of cases pending in the courts related to the telecom sector.
Sources said that the caretaker government wants to start the auction process of 5G. Initiation of the 5G auction process is not possible without the availability of spectrum. The IT Ministry has proposed setting up a Telecom Tribunal to end the ongoing litigation on the spectrum issue.
Sources added that there is a need to amend the Telecommunication Reorganization Act, 1996 for setting up the Telecom Tribunal. The caretaker government has sought the opinion of the Law Ministry, after which an ordinance is being considered for the establishment of a Telecom Tribunal. Sources say that because the National Assembly is not in place, an ordinance is the only solution at this time.
According to sources, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has also briefed the federal government that a separate tribunal is necessary to clear the burden of pending cases in the telecom sector.
PTA has told in the briefing that thousands of cases in the telecom sector are currently pending in the courts. As the telecom sector is a technical sector, the establishment of a Telecom Tribunal is need of hour to resolve these pending cases.
Sources remarked that attempts have been made to establish a telecom tribunal in the past as well. The Law Ministry also prepared a draft amendment to the Telecommunication Reorganization Act of 1996, but it could not be approved.