The caretaker government has established a specialised tribunal for speedily resolving court cases and disputes in the telecom sector. The ‘Telecommunication Appellate Tribunal’ was set up after an amendment to the Telecom Act.

“It was a long-standing demand of the telecom sector, that their court cases and disputes were speedily resolved,” interim Information Technology Minister Dr Umar Saif said in a video statement uploaded on X, erstwhile Twitter, on Thursday.

“Due to these issues, companies in the telecom sector were unable to make key decisions including investments and expansion of operations.”

The government was of the view that the tribunal would help ease the burden on high courts concerning the adjudication of technical matters. A notification in this regard has been issued, said his post.

“In the absence of Parliament, the tribunal will work under the Presidential Ordinance,” said the minister.

The caretaker minister added that the law ministry would nominate the tribunal’s chairperson and members as per the ordinance.

“The chairperson of the tribunal can only be a high court judge or a lawyer with 15 years of experience. The telecom tribunal shall have two technocrats as members,” he said and added that the number of members could be changed as per requirement.

“The tribunal will be bound to decide within 90 days on the appeal against the decision of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority,” Saif said.