The appointment of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Director General (DG) Law & Regulations has been contested in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The petition alleges that the credentials and experience criteria for the appointment were not followed in a manner that is stated by the PTA Employees Service Regulations, according to the specifics, which have been acknowledged by the court.
According to the petition filed in the Islamabad High Court, the required age for the job of DG Law is 32 to 45 years old, with a minimum of 8 to 10 years experience as a High Court or Supreme Court advocate, or a first-class LLB/Bar-at-Law qualification.
According to Nayatel’s appeal, PTA’s DG Law did not match any of the above-mentioned standards because he has a law degree and no legal expertise, all of which were advertised for the post.
PTA claims that the qualifications for DG Law were eased because the candidate held a public office and hence the service restrictions were irrelevant.
It’s worth noting that the current DG Law was assigned to PTA in July of this year.
While the petition was only filed this week and could take some time to resolve, if the appointment is found to be unconstitutional, all of the PTA’s DG Law’s judgments could be at risk.
It’s worth noting that PTA oversees a PKR 550 billion-a-year telecom business, so any consequences of a decision against the regulator might be massive in terms of volume and impact.
The Petitioner, Nayatel, telecom business, and PTA licensee, argued before the IHC that it has a right to expect the PTA to spend regulatory fees wisely by appointing competent people based on merit rather than appointing ineligible people to crucial positions. Such an act could have a significant impact on the regulatory process’ quality.
Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC invited PTA to share its answer and adjourned the hearing to March 15, 2022.
