PTCL and Etisalat likely to buy Telenor in Pakistan

PTCL and Etisalat are said to buy Telenor in Pakistan which owners want to wind up their businesses.

Etisalat, based in the United Arab Emirates, has already purchased stakes in Pakistan’s PTCL. Now, it plans to buy stakes in Telenor to expand its footprint.

The government has said that it would not compromise on the protection of consumers’ rights and employees of Telenor after it is sold in Pakistan.

There have been talks that PTCL and Etisalat were going to buy entire stakes of Telenor in Pakistan.

While addressing a ceremony, Amin-Ul-Haque Minister of IT said that there is a non-binding offer regarding Telenor, the Ministry of IT is looking into all these matters, it is our responsibility to protect the rights of the consumers and there will be no compromise on the employment of the company’s employees and the quality of service.

This was he stated while addressing the Internet Governance & Internet Resources Share for Pakistan event organized by Number Resource Society (NRS) at a local hotel in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The ceremony was also addressed by Mr. Lu Heng – Founder and CEO of LARUS Limited, Mr. Melvin Cheng – Director of Business Development Innovation Service Ltd, Mr. Kashif Nawaz – NRS Ambassador, and Mr. Mohammed Ismail: Director of Pacific Connect Limited. Mr. Muhammad Omar Malik Member Telecom (MOITT), Mr. Jahanzeb Director Wireless, and other officers and prominent personalities of the IT industry were also present on the occasion.

He said that the Ministry of Energy & Power did not contact the Ministry of IT regarding any possible cyber-attack on the power blackout, but the Ministry already explained that it was a technical fault.

Furthermore about Internet Governance, the Federal Minister for IT & Telecom said an awareness event on Internet Governance and Internet Resources sharing is of great importance for developing economies like Pakistan. As per my understanding, Number Resource Society (NRS) is doing great work in the public interest that is distribution of IP addresses, working as a Non-Profit Organization (NPO).

It will help raise the voice of countries like Pakistan in the global and regional digital arena as well as in the Internet governance forums.

We expect NRS-like organizations to play their role in the multi-stakeholder process to discuss and contribute towards making a mechanism to address Internet governance issues. NRS can also help us to get the right voice from Pakistan in APNIC by supporting Pakistani Candidates so that the Pakistan internet community has their voice to get what we need in terms of internet resources like IP v4, IP v6 allocation.

IT Ministry is fully cognizant of the significance of Internet governance and to this effect, we have already established a specialized vertical on Internet Governance at the Ministry.

Ministry’s IG Strategy builds upon inclusiveness to address new and continuously evolving challenges and opportunities within the Internet Governance landscape. As you may know, our Country Code Top Level Domain (.pk) is managed by a private entity that is issuing the sub-level domains to our business, government, academia, and non-profit, among others, without any governmental regulatory compliance.

He said we have also done efforts to help 5G initiative that will help to endorse the multi-stakeholder participation as well as input for internet governance at the national and international levels.

He said; Alhamdulillah, it is good news for the IT industry and freelancers that now the State Bank has issued a circular under which the problems related to banking and account maintaining of IT professionals will be eliminated.

There will be no more obstacles in the delivery of services. The telecom sector currently faces the biggest problems with respect to letters of credit due to which, they have difficulties in importing their equipment. As a result, plans for upgrading the system and installing new towers are likely to be delayed. In this regard, we have spoken to the Finance Minister, 50% LCs are allowed, and we hope the rest of the issue will be resolved soon.

Federal Minister for Information Technology & Telecommunication Syed Amin-Ul- Haque has said that the digital census will continue till March, after which the Election Commission will need 4 months for De-limitations, so it’s quite clear that General Elections in the country are not possible before October 2023.

The Federal Minister said that, if the Former Prime Minister Imran Khan will cross the red line for political reasons within the scope of the constitution and law, then the country and the nation will suffer.

Syed Amin-Ul-Haque said that the political unrest is increasing with each passing day and this political unrest is leading the country to an economic crisis. As a political party, we want stability in the country. In any case, democracy should remain permanent.

“Law and order should be closely monitored, attempts are being made to destroy law and order in Pakistan in the name of Talibanization” he added.