ISLAMABAD: The chief operating officer (CEO) of Pak-Datacom Ltd (PDL) has voiced concern over the delay in the presentation of a fact-finding report to the company’s board.

The management of PDL had taken a decision on June 28, 2024, not to renew the contracts of some employees over a lack of discipline, not performing their duties and repeated misconduct despite warnings.

Later, these employees approached the ministry and lodged a complaint with board of PDL, but a fact-finding committee tasked with investigating the allegations has yet to finalise its report, despite the passage of several months.

The recent retirement of a member of the Ministry of IT and Telecom has further delayed the finalisation of the report.

In their complaint, the employees alleged that they had been threatened with termination when they raised concerns about irregularities.

However, PDL CEO Brig (retd) Syed Zulfiqar Ali has asked the company’s board to take note of what he called “a malicious campaign against him by some former employees”.

In his response to the board, Ali said that he was appointed PDL CEO on Aug 5, 2020, and the company’s gross revenue at that time was Rs770 million with earnings per share (EPS) of Rs0.69.

In the year 2024, after he had spent four years with the company, the gross revenue of PDL had rised to Rs1.68 billion, while the EPS stood at Rs16.

He added that PDL was one of 16 IT & Telecom companies listed on the PSX, and remained the company with a maximum EPS for three consecutive years, showing a record increase of Rs915 million in revenue and Rs15.31 in EPS over 4 years.

The response by the CEO to the board over the allegations made by the former employees added that the company’s revenue stream was increased as many new businesses were added and many undesirable elements were separated from the company over the past four years, which also helped eliminate pilferage and increase profitability.

The response by the CEO also highlighted that the Board approved a special honorarium for him due to his exemplary performance.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2025