ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: A software company chief executive arrested on December 5 for operating a telecom facility without securing license won his right to get bail when Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that it was withdrawing charges and would not oppose his bail plea.

Sessions Judge Mirza Rafiuz Zaman will take up the appeal of Muhammad Faisal Chohan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Islamabad-based “Cogilent Solutions” here on Saturday. Mr. Chohan had filed an appeal with the sessions judge after rejection of the same by the Additional Sessions Judge Chaudhry Abdul Qayyum on December 15.

A joint team of PTA and FIA had raided the Islamabad office of Muhammad Faisal Chohan for allegedly running VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) commonly known as internet telephony on commercial basis without securing a valid license from PTA. The raid was conducted on the complaint of Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL).

The PTA has so far conducted 24 raids during the last one and a half year and arrested an equal number of illegal telecom operators for causing an estimated revenue loss of Rs652 million to the state.

“The authority, it seems, has succumbed to the pressure of the software companies which has also influenced Information Technology Minister Awais Leghari to personally request the PTA chairman to issue necessary instructions to the FIA for the release of Faisal Chohan,” observed a senior officer in the authority.

Though PTA has issued a notification not to pursue the case, it still maintains that VoIP is a licensed service and the bandwidth provided to the company was for data purposes only. It also maintains that the company had also bypassed legal gateways by extending telephone line internationally without a LDI (long distance international) license.

Meanwhile, in a related development, President Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) Ashraf Kapadia has requested President Pervez Musharraf to intervene into the matter saying that the sooner Mr. Chohan came out of jail, the better.

The sequence of events and the resultant delays in the release of the company executive has sent a negative signal to the community of technology entrepreneurs and their investors in Pakistan, Ashraf Kapadia feared.

The sentiment and frustration among software companies and publicity of the case is impacting on the image of Pakistan that could lead to hampering investment and the much-needed return of talent to this country, he added.

In his appeal before the sessions judge, Mr. Chohan contended that his innocence had been established beyond any shadow of doubt during investigations, as the investigating officer had already submitted an application to the Illaqa Magistrate for his release from jail.

Mr. Chohan was sent to the Adiala Jail under Section 31 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996, Sections 36 and 37 of the Electronic Transaction Ordinance 2002, Section 25 (c) of the Telegraph Act 1885 and sections 34 and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code.