Telecom deregulation policy approved: Cabinet sets licence validity at 20 years

The Federal Cabinet met here on Saturday and formally approved the Telecom Deregulation Policy fixing the validity of the licence for long loop and long distance international telecom services at 20 years.
The Information Technology and Telecom Division will notify the approved policy which will be reviewed after every five-years. The Cabinet had agreed to this policy in principle in July last year.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad briefed the media on Cabinet proceedings, which main met to record its appreciation of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Jamali for their roles in conducting the 12th Saarc summit and the Pakistan-India talks on the sidelines of the moot.
The telecom policy is designed to achieve the objectives of provision of telecom services at competitive and affordable rates, infrastructure development, increase in tele-density and the private sector investment in the tele-communication sector, with minimum exposure to government revenue base in the short-term, and enable the PTA to invite expressions of interest (EoI) from potential investors.
The Cabinet acknowledged that the World Bank has already termed this policy as a progressive telecommunication deregulation policy reflecting international best practices.
The Federal Cabinet also approved amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act-1997, in the light of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, raising the minimum and maximum punishment for offences relating to financing of terrorism and making it a non-bailable offence.
According to the amendments, any individual or entity, involved in financing of terrorism shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term of four to 10 years in place of the original punishment of six months to five years as provided in Section 11(N) of the Act.
The financing of terrorism shall be a non-bailable offence, and all societies and other institutions which have a potential to act as conduits for such financing shall be obliged to establish bank accounts and maintain information about their employees, clients, etc, failing which they will face fine and revocation of license.
The Cabinet also approved a draft bill to make Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan an autonomous body under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.
The broaden the Corporation and Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) entry criteria to accommodate all or any financial institution operating in Pakistan, an amendment has been approved by the Cabinet to simplify the process of entry of financial institutions into CIRC programme.
The Cabinet gave approval to an agreement with Vietnam to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal-evasion with respect to taxes on income.
It also ratified sixth additional protocol to the Constitution of Universal Postal Union, its General Regulation and Universal Postal Union Convention's Final Protocol, as revised in Beijing Congress.
The Cabinet also approved transfer of the control of federal levies to the governments of NWFP and Balochistan along with the budget provisions.
It approved an amendment to the Press, newspapers, news agencies and Books Registration Ordinance-2003 empowering the district magistrate, Islamabad Capital Territory to exercise the powers of district co-ordination officer. The amendment also authorises the federal government to make rules under Section 44 of the Ordinance.
Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali lauded the services and efforts made by the ministries of Information & Broadcasting, Foreign Affairs and Interior in particular for making the Saarc summit a great success. He said the entire nation rose to the occasion to make the event a success.
He also thanked the ministers-in-waiting for the prudent and hospitable manner in which they conducted the Heads of Government/States during the Saarc summit. The prime minister also appreciated the conduct and performance of the parliamentarians in the smooth passage of the 17th Constitutional Amendment Bill and in the process of the vote of confidence for the President.
Commenting on the passage of the 17th Constitutional Amendment Bill, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said it was a leap forward in the democratisation process, and thanked all the parliamentary groups, including the MMA for making it possible.
The prime minister, however, reserved his warmest tribute for the President, who he said demonstrated "the greatest flexibility in this entire process which made it possible for the government and the MMA to arrive at an agreement".
The Cabinet unanimously applauded the "political acumen and wisdom of the prime minister with which he conducted the 12th Saarc summit.
The resounding success of the summit was the manifestation of his statesmanship and political vision. Before the conclusion of the meeting, Senior Advisor Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada moved a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Jamali for "his extraordinarily successful stewardship of the Saarc summit".