PTA directed not to block unregistered cellular phones for 3 months

PESWHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has extended the period of blocking the unregistered mobile phones up to three months.

The court directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) not to block unregistered cellular phones within a period of three months from the date of the judgment.

“The respondents are directed not to block non-standard identifiers/non-complaint cellular phones of petitioners in three months.

However, the PTA was directed to complete the entire process of registration of the unregistered mobile phones within three months,” stated a high court judgment passed by a division bench in a writ petition of a citizen against the blocking of unregistered mobile phones by the PTA.

In a three-page judgment, authored by Justice Musarrat Hilali, the high court stated that eight petitioners, including Tor Gul and others prayed that the PTA may be directed to agree on a relaxed time line with all the relevant stakeholders for implementation of Phase-2, resulting in blocking the unregistered mobile phones with PTA.

It said that the petitioners prayed before the court to direct the PTA to agree with the stakeholders, which is the entire industry of the mobile business, to register

the mobile phones step by step and proper procedure before the extremity of blocking the phones, entirely in the interest of justice.