PTA Yet to Appoint New Member Compliance & Enforcement

The post of Member Compliance and Enforcement in Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been vacant for over three months. The federal government neither issued an advertisement for the appointment of a new member enforcement and compliance nor approved the extension of the tenure of ex-member enforcement and compliance of Dr. Khawar Khokhar. Sources in the federal government told ProPakistani that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has agreed to approve the re-appointment of ex-member Khawar Khokhar in principle. The Prime Minister had directed to send the summary to the cabinet, but the federal cabinet has not yet approved the summary of the re-appointment of Dr. Khawar Khokhar. Officials of the Cabinet Division say that the post of Member Compliance and Enforcement was not advertised on the instructions of the federal government. The cabinet division had sent the summary of the re-appointment of ex-member compliance and enforcement to the federal government. The Performance Evaluation Committee headed by Federal Minister Ayaz Sadiq also recommended the reappointment of Dr. Khawar for the term of the next 4 years but the federal cabinet has not yet approved the summary. Cabinet Division officials say that according to the PTA Act, the federal cabinet has the authority to extend or re-appoint any member. In case of approval of the Federal Cabinet, the Cabinet Division will issue a notification. If the Cabinet rejects the summary of the re-appointment, the advertisement for the post will be issued.