KARACHI, May 17: Speakers at a World Telecom Day 2003 seminar on Saturday put the onus of expanding the base of information technology infrastructure in the country on the government. They also urged the government to announce a deregulation policy without further delay.

In a recorded video message, the federal minister for information technology, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, who stayed in the capital to attend a similar seminar there, said the government was in its final stage of formulating the deregulation policy of the information technology and communications sectors. He added that the policy would be put before the cabinet for final approval.

Mr Leghari urged the private sector to participate in the growth of information technology and avail themselves of the concessions being offered by the government.

The chairman of Telecard, Sultan ul Arfeen, said that about 10 years ago the government had invited the private sector to take part in the growth of information technology and the communications sector. “Ten years back, there were only 7,000 public call offices in the country. Today the number of public call offices has risen to a staggering 150,000.”

He said: “Nevertheless, sometimes one wonders whether the government is really interested in rewarding the private sector for its contribution in the growth of information technology. Call charges collected by the government are exactly the same as the call charges collected from the PTCL and the NTC. This is despite the fact that the government has made no investment in the private sector.”

He urged the government to announce the much-awaited deregulation policy, adding that a five-year policy guaranteeing no whimsical changes would be most suitable for the information technology sector.

The state minister for information technology, Mohammad Raza Hayat Harraj, told the audience that teledensity in the country was less than three per cent. He added that according to a target set by the government teledensity would be upped to 15 per cent.

He said the government would do its utmost to ensure that the economical viability of the PTCL was not impaired. “The PTCL is a government utility. It is the government’s wish to make sure that the interests of the PTCL remain secure even after the deregulation of the communications sector.”

He announced that the government was developing a forum for all the PhDs who were returning to the country from abroad.

The federal minister for investment and privatization, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, said the telecommunications sector comprised four sections: policy making, regulation, ownership and management. “All the four sections have always been with the government. In fact the job of the government is to make policy. We need to deregulate the information technology sector.”