ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja accused former caretaker federal minister Dr Umar Saif of sabotaging a private deal of bringing international gateway, Paypal, to Pakistan by leaking it before time.“Bringing PayPal to Pakistan was a private deal, which Dr Saif leaked before time.
This action annoyed PayPal and he (Dr Umar) sabotaged it”, said Khawaja, while talking to media persons, here on Tuesday.
Replying to a question, the minister said that insufficient spectrum, increasing number of users; load management practices of telecom operators due to expensive electricity, low investment due to issues in opening of letters of credit (LCs) as well as faults in two submarine cables were the major reasons behind the slow internet in the country. When asked about the slow internet connectivity, she explained that Pakistan currently operated with 274 MHz of spectrum, while 550 MHz had recently been freed from litigation over the past six months.
The minister also said that the 5G auction had been delayed due to ongoing legal matters. She said restrictions on opening LCs had a bad impact since they delayed the import of necessary telecom equipment.
The minister further revealed no new telecom infrastructure has been established in the past two years due to a lack of investment, while energy and fuel price hikes have burdened the sector.
Telecom operators, she said, manage their load by reducing/restricting services during power outages rather than turning on fuel generators to maintain optimal services. The IT minister noted the rising dollar rates and the low average revenue per user (ARPU) in Pakistan, adding that the country’s internet is linked to eight submarine cables, two of which are currently malfunctioning. She was hopeful that spectrum auctions and investments in the telecom sector would resolve many of the current issues.
 sabotaged it”, said Khawaja, while talking to media persons, here on Tuesday){kind=link}