By ANI Correspondent
ISLAMABAD — The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, chaired by Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, reviewed a wide-ranging agenda, including proposed telecom competition rules, PTCL property issues, cybercrime, call-centre fraud and alleged consumer overcharging.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, senators and senior officials from the Ministry of IT, PTA, NCCIA, FIA and other relevant departments attended the meeting.
The Committee was informed that consultations with telecom operators and other stakeholders on the proposed Telecommunication Competition Rules were underway. Officials sought additional time to finalise the rules and assured that the Competition Commission of Pakistan would also be consulted.
The Committee also reviewed recoveries from Etisalat and unresolved property transfers involving PTCL. It decided to take up the matter jointly with the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation to expedite its resolution.
NCCIA officials briefed the Committee on action against accounts containing blasphemous material, while the Committee directed that investigations be expedited.
FIA and NCCIA officials further briefed the Committee on alleged fraud of Rs172 billion through call centres. The officials said specialised technical expertise was required and the matter was being referred to NCCIA for further investigation.
The Committee stressed the need for Pakistan to develop its own social media application for secure messaging and communication and sought a briefing on the proposed initiative.
The Committee also decided to constitute a Sub-Committee to investigate allegations that a major telecom company had charged consumers additional amounts.
