Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Information Technology Committee on Wednesday directed Warid/Mobilink to resolve their issues amicably.

The committee was informed that after the merger of Warid and Mobilink, as many as 263 franchises were shut down by top management. The management gave the reason that they were situated at a short distance.

Jazz representative Ali Nasir told the committee that it was impossible after the merger to continue all the franchises. “After due diligence, it was decided to shut down some, though majority of them were related to Warid Telecom and some of the Mobilink.”

He also claimed that all the franchises were informed in 2016 that the merger was in progress, which would result in shutting down of some franchises.

One of the complainants, Naeemul Haq, told the committee that on January 19 Jazz directed all the franchises to meet their targets, adding that on January 20, an email circulated that the company has shut down some franchises.

“We were not told why they are closed,” he said, adding that according to the agreement Jazz has to give the franchises a 15-day notice.

The committee chairman directed Jazz and franchises to find out an amicable solution. The committee was of the view that being a private company, it was good omen on part of Jazz, who appeared in Senate committee to respond some quarries of senators. The committee was of the view that though it was a private matter, however, it would protect the rights of franchises and consumers.

The committee was also informed that the government has allocated Rs 1109.249 million under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2016-17 for the Information Technology Ministry for 13 projects. Up to December 2016, the government released Rs 317.278 million for these projects and actual utilisation was Rs 290.411 million.

The committee also directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ensure protection of telecom consumers from unwanted calls.

The PTA representative informed the committee that the regulator, under the Pakistan Telecom (Re-Organization) Act, 1996 is obligated to protect consumer’s interest and ensure the redressal of consumer complaints by telecom companies. In this regard, the PTA notified “Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fradulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulation 2009”.

With the efforts of the PTA, all mobile operators have implemented a system for blocking of obnoxious calls and SMS. This system operates through a short code i.e. 420. A subscribe can send obnoxious/unwanted caller’s number through SMS or call at 420. The operator then restricts that number from calling the customer again. This saves a consumer for unnecessary bothering from any unwanted call/SMS sender.