The telecom operators have written to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Ministry of Information Technology to express their concerns and legal limitations with respect to the blocking of 500,000 SIM cards belonging to non-filers.

The letter highlights that, as required by the Telecom Act, telecom providers must offer customers uninterrupted services. It emphasizes that abruptly disabling mobile SIMs is against the law and could lead to impacted customers suing.

They contend that the decision undermines the rights of taxpayers and the telecom sector since it does not provide a thorough analysis of constitutional and legal issues.

The letter urges transparency in the application of tax legislation and pushes for adherence to current legal standards prior to the termination of SIMs.

Furthermore, it emphasizes the significance of educated public debate and urges for a mass media effort to increase knowledge of the prohibition on non-filers.

The telecom sector has urged the FBR to reevaluate the implementation of the Income Tax General Order (ITGO) in light of legal difficulties and consumer rights, emphasizing the need for transparency and adherence to legal procedures in the enforcement of tax laws.

The PTA argued against the blocking of nearly 500,000 tax non-filers’ SIM cards last week.

PTA said that barring these SIMs would not be consistent with their system in a letter to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

PTA observed that many women use cellphone SIM cards that are linked to men’s names. They declared that there are no limitations on the new SIMs that are issued to non-filers.

The process for returning the SIM cards of people who are subject to taxes was also questioned by the telecommunications authorities.

The authorities made it clear that they are not required by law to block SIM cards, and that doing so would be detrimental to the telecom industry and digitalization.

SIFC was established to improve the ease of doing business for potential investors through a “Whole of Government Approach” – achieving optimal horizontal-vertical synergy and facilitation by the Pakistan Army – and to attract investments from friendly countries in selected sectors through an empowered organization that serves as a “single-window” platform for facilitation.

The children will learn the newest skills in these state-of-the-art IT labs, expanding their employment prospects.

These IT laboratories will be constructed in sixteen degree colleges spread throughout various parts of Islamabad.

Students will take six-month courses in artificial intelligence (AI), game development, data science, and block chain in these IT labs.

Approximately 1,000 students will have access to courses in the first phase, which is being implemented in response to market demand.

The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission has worked with esteemed universities such as NUST, National Skills University, COMSATS, and NUML to produce these courses.

The second week of this month will mark the start of these classes. For these courses, about 3,600 students have signed up.

There are 505 examination centers for students spread over the city.

The morning session will cover the Science group, which is currently working on the ninth and tenth computer theory papers, while the afternoon session will cover the General group.

Secondary board exams will end on May 31.

The Education Department has dispatched fifty vigilance officers. Mobile phones are strictly prohibited in examination centers, and the use of photostat equipment near examination centers during exams is completely prohibited.

Section 144 is enforced surrounding examination centers, and an order has been issued to ensure that electricity is available at all times during exams.

Meanwhile, the negligence of private school administrators has jeopardized the future of matriculation students, since a huge number of students have yet to obtain their admit cards.

Certain private school administrators stated they employed an agent to handle the submission of students’ exam forms and money. However, these agents, along with the papers and money, appear to have vanished.

In response, a spokeswoman for the Karachi matriculation board blamed the delay on private schools’ failure to submit applications on time.

While conceding that schools that submitted applications online may print admit cards digitally, the spokesman stated that the sudden rise in printing requests in recent days had placed a strain on the system.

The spokesman also suggested that school administrators receive admit card prints directly from the board’s website.