Senate committee on on IT and Tech on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the absence of formal telecom competition rules in Pakistan, revealing that such regulations have not been formulated for nearly three decades.
The issue came up during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology, where senators questioned officials from the Ministry of IT and telecom regulators about the long delay in introducing rules meant to govern competition in the industry.
Senator Shahadat Awan told the committee that despite the telecom sector operating for more than 30 years, competition rules have still not been formally introduced. He pointed to the recent merger between PTCL and Telenor Pakistan as an example of the problems created by the absence of clear regulations.
“If a dispute arises between companies, who will be responsible?” the senator asked, noting that not only have the rules not been notified, but even a draft has not been publicly presented.
Senator Kamran Murtaza also questioned the delay and asked officials when the long-awaited rules would finally be completed.
Officials from the Ministry of IT told the committee that work on the rules has been underway for the past year. The Secretary of IT said that while telecom equipment regulations have already been notified, the broader competition rules are still being finalized.
The chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said the regulator had prepared competition rules, but the Competition Commission of Pakistan had raised objections three times. This, he said, slowed the process of finalizing the framework.
Senator Shahadat Awan said the ministry and regulators might not have acted if the committee had not raised the issue. Senator Talha Mahmood also expressed surprise over the situation, calling the delay “the height of negligence.”
Growing Pressure for Rules
The lack of telecom competition rules has drawn criticism, especially during major events like the PTCL-Telenor merger, which reshaped Pakistan’s telecom market.
Without clear rules, regulators struggled to assess the deal’s impact on fair competition, forcing the Competition Commission of Pakistan to conduct a long review and impose strict conditions, including appointing an independent third-party reviewer to monitor the merged company for several years.
In 2025, the issue arose that Pakistan’s leading telecom operators were accused of charging “hidden service fees” and “recharge maintenance fees” on prepaid cards. Because there were no specific Telecom Competition Rules, the PTA had no clear way to label these as anti-competitive.
This led to a major legal battle, and in November 2025, the Islamabad High Court ruled against the telcos, confirming that the Competition Commission of Pakistan had to step in since the PTA lacked the necessary rules to deal with deceptive marketing practices.
Committee Issues Deadline
Following the discussion, the committee chair directed the Ministry of IT to prepare the final draft of the competition rules within one month. Senator Kamran Murtaza also suggested that the Ministry of Law and Justice should be consulted before the rules are finalized.
Pakistan’s telecom sector is undergoing a major shift, highlighted by the recent merger of two leading operators, which has reduced the number of competitors in the market. In this context, competition rules are critical to prevent pricing collusion, poor service, and the marginalisation of consumers.
Without clear telecom-specific regulations, the PTA has limited authority to address anti-competitive practices, while the Competition Commission of Pakistan can step in only in general terms. Rules tailored to the sector are needed to manage issues like spectrum allocation, interconnection agreements, and market dominance effectively.
