ISLAMABAD: Careta­ker Prime Minister Anwa­arul Haq Kakar was on Friday informed that Pakistan Telecommunication Auth­ority’s revenue increased to Rs850 billion as the number of cellphone consumers touched 192 million mark.

The prime minister was given this information by PTA chairman retired Major General Hafeezur Rehman while presenting 2023 annual report of the authority to him during a meeting.

“The prime minister was told that the PTA’s revenue increased by 17 per cent to Rs850 billion comparing the last year while the access to cellular services in the country has reached 90 per cent,” said an official statement issued by the PM Office.

“The number of cellular phone consumers touched 192 million and high-speed broadband users reached 130 million during 2023,” the PTA chief was quoted as saying.

On the other hand, the PTI alleged on Friday its websites were “blocked” in Pakistan and demanded an answer from the federal authorities, adds a Dawn.com report.

The PTI, deprived of its iconic ‘bat’ symbol for the polls, fielded its leaders as independent candidates with different electoral symbols. To combat confusion among voters and to ease access to election-related information, the party launched an online portal on its website insaf.pk, as well as a “back-up site”, pticandidates.com.

Dawn.com staffers tried accessing the PTI’s websites on Friday but were unable to do so through Wi-Fi or mobile data, except when using a VPN.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2024