The Cabinet Division requested that Major General (Retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa serve as Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) through January 21, 2023, but Bajwa rejected the request, putting the federal government in a difficult position as it attempts to nominate an acting chairman.
The procedure for choosing the next PTA Chairman has begun, but until the permanent position is filled, the acting chairman will likely have to deal with several legal issues that could seriously affect the authority’s day-to-day operations.
As things stand, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar, Senior Member PTA (Compliance & Enforcement), will retire on January 10th. Farhatullah Babar, the head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has already filed a High Court lawsuit challenging the reappointment of Member Finance Muhammad Naveed.
According to sources, these members’ existing positions may cause the appointment of the Acting Chairman PTA to be postponed. It should be noted that the federal cabinet has also received the executive summary of Member Compliance’s tenure renewal.
In any case, it has been reported that a number of crucial frameworks within the regulator’s purview may experience delays as a result of the many obstacles to the appointment of an Acting Chairman,
Officials from the Cabinet Division stated that, in accordance with the legislation, the federal government will appoint an Acting Chairman PTA. Relevantly, although a deadline has not yet been set, the procedure to permanently fill the PTA hot seat is currently under progress.
