The Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication blasted the Ministry of IT for concealing the names and positions of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited’s (PTCL) board of directors, controlled by UAE-based Etisalat.
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The committee expressed outrage that despite repeated requests, the Ministry had failed to provide even basic details about PTCL’s board members. “Why is the Ministry hiding PTCL’s board list? What salaries and perks are they receiving?” demanded the committee chairperson, calling the board a “white elephant” draining the company.
Senator Nadeem Bhutto questioned why the Ministry could not even disclose the names of Pakistani board members. “This secrecy is shocking—why are you shielding Etisalat?” he asked.
The committee further grilled officials on whether the board members were paid in rupees or dollars, hinting at possible misuse of public resources. “If you hide these details, we will call more and more meetings until the truth comes out,” the chairperson warned.
With PTCL already under scrutiny for its performance, the revelations reinforced suspicions that Etisalat is running the company in secrecy, prioritizing perks for its board over service improvements in Pakistan’s telecom sector.
Despite its troubled performance, the ongoing scrutiny of PTCL has only intensified suspicions that Etisalat is running the company in a veil of secrecy. These revelations suggest the company’s focus is on securing lavish perks for its board members rather than on improving the telecommunication services that millions of Pakistanis depend on.
