The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N)-led government would take measures on war-footing to generate non-tax revenue of 1.6 billion dollars on account of Etisalat and auction of 3G spectrum in the current year to support the troubled economy of the country, said Ahsan Iqbal Deputy General Secretary of the party.
The PPP-led government had budgeted 850 million dollars on account of auction of 3G license and 800 million dollars on disbursement by Etisalat for privatisation of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) in the outgoing fiscal year, however it failed to generate the budgeted amount. In an exclusive chat with Business Recorder, Ahsan Iqbal said the issue of non-tax revenue of 800 million dollars on disbursement by Etisalat for privatisation of PTCL would be taken with the concerned authorities soon. The government would immediately start negotiation with Etisalat and expects the issue to be resolved soon.
The country was confronted with numerous challenges and efforts were needed to steer the economy out of crisis, Ahsan Iqbal maintained. The auction of 3G spectrum has been delayed thrice since the former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani approved 3G policy on November 23, 2011.
Regarding the auction of 3G licence Ahsan Iqbal said the last government failed to complete the process, however it is expected that the next government would complete the process in the current year. Chief of Etisalat met former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in December last year and was requested to release the amount owed for PTCL privatisation. Etisalat remained firm in its stance and linked the release of payment to the transfer of all agreed properties. At the time of privatisation of PTCL, there were a total of 3,248 properties to be mutated in favour of PTCL. Of these, 3,117 have been transferred till date leaving 131 outstanding properties which include 32 public and 99 private.
The former PM had also constituted a task force comprising Finance Division, Privatisation Commission and Ministry of Information Technology to negotiate with Etisalat for an early settlement however the committee failed to hold a single session.