ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that the Federal Government can suspend mobile phone services or cellular services under special circumstances.
The decision was made at a hearing today regarding petitions by the Ministry of Information and The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) against mobile phone companies.
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The Supreme Court decided that the Government can suspend cellular services under specific conditions and the court further ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the IT Ministry to devise relavant standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding the process.
Earlier in April, the Supreme High Court set aside an order by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from 2018 which stated that it was illegal for the Government to suspend mobile phone services.
According to the Islamabad High Court, the actions and directives of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Federal Government were inconsistant with the provisions of section 54(3) of the PTA Act 1996.
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