The Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom convened a session chaired by Senator Sadia Abbasi to examine diesel theft at telecom towers across the country.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Director briefed the committee on widespread fuel theft occurring at mobile network towers throughout the country during the meeting.
Officials confirmed that more than 9,200 diesel theft incidents were reported at telecom towers across the country during a period spanning the past 11 months alone.
Senator Kamran Murtaza questioned how diesel could be stolen from telecom towers when security guards were reportedly present and stationed at those facilities.
Universal Service Fund officials told the committee that 330 of its more than 4,000 mobile towers had recorded diesel theft incidents within the reported period.
USF officials further disclosed that 229 theft incidents had taken place specifically at towers located within Balochistan, making it the most affected province.
Officials confirmed that 90 telecom towers across the country have been experiencing repeated diesel theft incidents, raising serious concerns about site-level security management.
PTA officials acknowledged that first information reports are not being registered by telecom companies when diesel theft incidents occur at their tower sites.
Senator Sadia Abbasi stated that urgent improvements to mobile services are needed, adding that citizens continue to express serious dissatisfaction with current service quality.
PTA officials informed the committee that the authority has already introduced a series of measures aimed at improving the overall quality of internet services.
Officials stated that the recent spectrum auction will not only enable the launch of 5G services but will also lead to significant improvements in existing 4G coverage.
PTA officials confirmed that the authority has issued show-cause notices to telecom operators and has also imposed financial penalties to enforce service quality compliance.
