KARACHI: The sale of Xiaomi smartphones has been barred in Pakistan, according to a statement posted on the website of an unofficial distributor of the company's products.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Spokesman Khurram Mehran on Wednesday confirmed the body had banned the sale of Xiaomi handsets in Pakistan saying, "They are not following the country's rules and laws."

"All phone sets have to be type-approved by the PTA and Xiaomi has not received type-approval yet."

Mehran could not confirm whether the smartphone maker had applied for type-approval, or if it had been denied.

Type-approval is a procedure that requires smartphone makers to submit their phone sets to the PTA, Mehran said.

"There is a form and there is a nominal fee. You need to submit these, then we see if the device can be approved or not," he said, adding that the PTA looked at technical specifications of phone sets, among other aspects.

Xiaomi in its statement had said the PTA had barred the sale and marketing of all Mi devices in the country, hinting at foul play.

"The PTA has demanded that XiaomiPK.com has to stop the sale/marketing of all Mi mobile devices... We want our customers and people around the country to understand the monopoly of some brands in the market," the statement said, without clarifying which monopoly it was referring to.

"We believe that the Pakistani market deserves to have fair competition but these events make us ponder that some competitors believe in grabbing the market through influence instead of competing on the basis of quality and service."

The statement goes on to highlight how "surprising" it is that Pakistan's customers have been denied the right to buy Mi devices "without any reason".

"If they (PTA) have any legitimate concern, we are ready to address it, but so far we haven't received any rational reason."