3G license must not be delayed: Supreme Court

Posted By on Aug 1, 2013 | 0 comments

3G license to be awarded on March 29In a situation,  Supreme Court has released notices to secretaries of cabinet and finance to upgrade court on the alleged delay in awarding 3G license in Pakistan.Supreme Court shown disappointment over the progress of 3G auction in Pakistan and observed that 3G licensing will bring huge investment in the country and no delay will be allowed in this regard.

Petitioner of the case also updated court that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the body that is empowered to carry out 3G auction in Pakistan, is incomplete in the absence of Chairman and the members of the body.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary also shown displeasure over non-appointment of Chairman as well as members of the authority. He directed the government to appoint the head of the authority at its earliest.The honorable court remarked that the process of 3G auction must be carried out with transparency or else it will defer the whole process.On another matter, Supreme Court has sought a reply from Secretary Finance as to how the department withdrew Rs. 44 billion from Universal Service Fund (USF) through an executive order.

Government of Pakistan had advertised for the appointment of PTA’s members on June 14. Later, the advertisement was cancelled by Lahore High Court on the grounds that the criteria in the ad was not according to the rules and laws of Pakistan Telecommunication Act. LHC had also directed the federation that new ad for the appointment could not be publicized until the outcome of existing case. LHC will have its next hearing on this case in October 2013.

Author: Ismail Ziker

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