The finalization of Pakistan’s Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026, has been delayed amid a longstanding jurisdictional dispute between the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP).
The issue was highlighted in documents presented during a briefing related to a question in the Senate, showing that the proposed rules remain under consideration by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
According to the documents, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication shared the draft Telecommunication Competition Rules with the PTA on January 21, 2026.
The draft subsequently went through several rounds of correspondence between the relevant authorities. The ministry later sent an amended version of the rules to the PTA on July 7.
The PTA submitted its comments on the amended draft on July 27. However, the process has not yet reached finalization, with the matter currently pending before the ministry.
At the center of the delay is a disagreement over which institution has the legal authority to regulate competition-related matters in Pakistan’s telecommunications sector.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has maintained that the PTA does not have jurisdiction over competition matters within the telecom sector.
The PTA, however, has defended its role by referring to the mandate and scope provided to the authority under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996.
The disagreement over regulatory jurisdiction has consequently become an important issue in the process of completing the proposed competition rules.
The Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026, are intended to establish a regulatory framework for competition-related matters in the telecom sector. Their finalization depends on resolving the institutional concerns surrounding the respective roles and legal authority of the relevant bodies.
The sequence of draft exchanges also indicates that the rules have undergone further review since the initial version was shared with the PTA in January.
After the amended draft was submitted to the authority in July, the PTA provided its comments later that month. The documents presented during the Senate briefing indicate that the process remains with the ministry at this stage.
The jurisdictional question reflects the broader challenge of defining the responsibilities of different regulatory institutions where telecom regulation and competition oversight intersect.
Until the disagreement is resolved and the draft rules are finalized, the Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026, remain pending.
