ISLAMABAD: The PTCL on Monday refused to share information with a parliamentary committee regarding the sale of a piece of land in Karachi, saying the stateowned company was not answerable to the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom.

The issue at hand was a PTCL announcement in which the company said it would auction a property situated on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi. Committee`s Chairman Syed Aminul Haq expressed displeasure, saying the PTCL was not providing the proof of powers that allowed it to sell properties.

The chairman of the committee asked the PTCL team about the specific clauses of the sale and purchase agreement that allowed PTCL to sell its properties without seeking permission from the government. The company did not provide information to the panel, but in a response to the IT ministry it stated that the PTCL`s Memorandum of Association allowed the company to sell its properties.

At this, the lawmakers asked if the company had such powers to sell land and wondered whether other government entities could do the same without seeking prior authorisation. Meanwhile, Sher Ali Arbab also expressed concerns that the PTCL had not responded to the queries by the committee.

Mazhar Hussain, adviser to the PTCL president, said that the company was not bound to respond to the questions posed by the committee and the reply had been forwarded to the IT ministry. He added that the committee could approach the ministry or Etisalat which retains the management control of the PTCL.

The situation in the committee room turned tense due to this response and Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani suggested taking the mat-ter to a logical end to clear the ambiguity. The members said the panel had powers to hold the company accountable since it was owned by the government.

The PTCL team was led by Zahida Awan, Group Chief Legal Officer and it included Naveed Butt and Mazhar Hussain, advisor to President PTCL.

Meanwhile, the representative of the Privatization Commission informed the committee that under Clause 6 of the agreement between the government and Etisalat, the commission was legally bound not to share the details of the agreement unless mutual consent was obtained from both the government of Pakistan and Etisalat.

Amid concerns that the members might have been given `incomplete information` by the company representatives, the chairman said that the matter would be discussed in an in-camera meeting to be attended by the representatives of the IT ministry, the law ministry, the Privatisation Commission, and Etisalat. They will be invited so that the sale and purchase agreement could be thoroughly reviewed.

The next meeting is likely to be held by the end of this month.

Another agenda item pertained to the upcoming projects of the Universal Service Fund (USF) in District Tharparkar and Sargodha Division.

While briefing the committee regarding complaints received from LDI (Long Distance and International) operators, PTA Chairman retired major general Hafeezur Rehman informed that 9 LDI operators defaulted on their payments, amounting to approximately Rs19 billion. Additionally, more than 100 cases involving these operators were pending in various courts.

The PTA issued notices to the LDI operators and at least six operators had expressed their willingness to clear their outstanding dues, he said, adding that there was a need to formulate a clear mechanism for recovery. According to one of the suggestions, an instalmentbased payment plan could be used for recovery.

To address the overall issue, a subcommittee was constituted under the convenorship of Sher Ali Arbab.