Latest news with #HumayunMohmand
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Senate body concerned at absence of legal cover for PCC establishment
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication raised serious concerns over the absence of legal cover for establishment of Pakistan Crypto Council, while saying that crypto currency adoption could become a mega scandal. The parliamentary panel met with Palwasha Khan in the chair here on Monday to review the scope and mandate of Pakistan Crypto Council recently launched by the federal government. The committee questioned the legal standing of the council and reiterated that the legislature has not been taken into confidence prior to the establishment of the Council. Senator Humayun Mohmand inquired as to whether or not the council could be created by the Executive orders? The committee further inquired about the role of IT Ministry in Crypto Council. The ministry failed to satisfy the committee over the legal cover for Crypto Council. The IT Secretary,ZarrarHasham Khan, stated that the ministry has a role of providing input with regard to TORs. The committee was of view that the Crypto Council should be under the preview of the Ministry of IT, rather than the Finance Ministry. After due deliberations, the committee deferred the matter and decided to invite the Finance Ministry in the next meeting for a comprehensive briefing. The IT secretary said that information technology and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports target of $5 billion is set for the next fiscal year. The country is likely to miss the exports target of $4.2 billion set for the outgoing fiscal year. IT exports is expected to reach $3.8 billion by the end of current fiscal year i.e. end June 2025 compared to $3.2 billion during the same period of last fiscal year. Discussing the issue of renewalof LDI/FLL licenses, the IT secretary informed that the consultation with the stakeholders has been completed as per the directions of the Sindh High Court (SHC), and the final decision will be announced in two to three weeks. Furthermore, the committee was briefed on the role of the IT Ministry in Pakistan Digital Authority. The IT secretary apprised that the Pakistan Digital Authority has been tasked to implement digital transformation initiatives focused on making the economy and governance digital, and will eventually play a major role in creating citizens centered 'Digital Society'. However, the IT Ministry is mainly responsible for policy formulation, legislation, governance in IT and telecommunications sector, he added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
27-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PTA faces problems in launching 5G
The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) and Telecom was informed on Thursday that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) faced problems regarding the launch of the 5G internet services in the country. In a briefing to the committee meeting, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, officials said that not all the subscribers would shift to 5G, as the speed of 4G and 3G services would also improve. They said that PTA would take a decision keeping in view the market players. The meeting discussed the status of the auction of the 5G spectrum. The PTA officials said that 5G required more spectrum. They added that a policy directive was required from the government for the new spectrum. The official said that a trial was allowed in 2017, while an advisory committee had been formed established on 5G. The PTA also hired a consultant in November, who has submitted its report, they said, adding that the decision about 5G spectrum would be taken by keeping in mind the market players. IT ministry officials told the committee that currently, there were three bands were available in Pakistan. They added that after the launching of 5G, not all subscribers would shift to it at once. They further stated that the speed of 3G and 4G services would also increase with the launch of 5G. Also during the meeting, Universal Service Fund (USF) officials gave a briefing to the committee on its projects in the last three years. They said that USF's mandate was to provide telecom services in rural, remote areas and that it had completed 63 projects in the past three years. Humayun Mohmand asked the officials about the complaints of the people in affected areas of Balochistan. The USF officials replied that the services were down in some areas because of security issues. The chairman enquired about the reasons for the internet disruption on the motorway. The USF officials replied that the PTA had taken up this issue and the work was under way to rectify the situation.
