Senate panel concerned over hefty fee paid to bureaucrats on PTCL board in US dollars

A report submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology revealed that Federal Minister for Establishment Division Ahad Cheema, along with the IT secretary and other senior bureaucrats, while serving as members of the board of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), earned substantial fees in US dollars. 

As per media reports, the report disclosed that Zarar Hashim Khan, PTCL Chairman and Secretary for IT&T, received $8,000 per board meeting, in addition to a monthly honorarium of Rs25,000, a 1,300cc car, and a driver provided by PTCL. 

PTCL’s Company Secretary, Zahida Awan, confirmed in a written response that directors of the PTCL board are paid $5,000 per meeting attended, with an additional $1,000 for each member serving on a board committee.

The committee expressed concern over the high remuneration received by government employees serving on the boards of state-owned enterprises. The committee also requested details of the perks and privileges offered to PTCL board members.

Committee Chairperson Senator Palwasha Khan instructed the Law Division to brief the committee on the official policies governing such payments, particularly for government employees and dignitaries. Members also asked for details on board members serving at Ufone, a PTCL subsidiary.

The committee also discussed data security concerns raised by NADRA. The chairperson expressed dissatisfaction over NADRA’s handling of data breaches involving dignitaries. 

The Interior Ministry’s additional secretary informed the committee that over 80% of NADRA’s data had been secured through modern protocols and that aliens had been removed from the database. Senator Afnanullah Khan recommended a third-party forensic audit of NADRA, and the committee decided to summon the NADRA chairman in the next session.

Additionally, the committee heard complaints from (retd) Brig Zulfiqar Ali, CEO of Pak-Datacom, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT). He alleged unfair treatment, including being illegally sent on forced leave by the company’s board. 

Senator Afnanullah emphasised that the IT ministry must provide a clear response to these allegations, as officials sought time to prepare a brief on the matter.