NA panel slams poor mobile services, urges government to bring Apple to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Monday criticised the deteriorating quality of mobile services across Pakistan and urged the government to engage Apple to encourage the technology giant to establish operations in the country.

The committee, chaired by Syed Aminul Haque, reviewed the telecom sector, including mobile service quality, the rollout of 5G, smartphone taxation and local mobile phone manufacturing.

Lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction over persistent network issues, saying consumers continue to face poor connectivity despite repeated discussions on the matter. Committee member Mahesh Kumar said he had served on the IT committee for years and was “tired” of discussing the issue without any meaningful improvement.

Sadiq Memon also voiced concern over worsening mobile services, saying users in major cities, including Islamabad and Karachi, were experiencing poor call quality.

Responding to the concerns, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman said the regulator now conducts independent district-level quality assessments instead of joint surveys with telecom operators. He admitted the PTA was not claiming service quality had improved but expressed hope that the nationwide rollout of 5G would gradually enhance network performance.

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IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja informed the committee that mobile data consumption had increased significantly in recent years, making network upgrades essential. She said the country had completed the 5G spectrum auction and entered the implementation phase, while noting that Pakistan still depends heavily on imported telecom infrastructure.

The committee also discussed smartphone taxation, with the PTA chairman describing the nearly 60% tax burden on mobile phones as excessive. He said the PTA regularly recommends tax reductions through the Ministry of IT, clarifying that the authority neither imposes taxes nor determines tax rates and is only responsible for whitelisting mobile devices.

Calling smartphones a necessity rather than a luxury, Aminul Haque urged the government to review the existing tax regime to make digital access more affordable.

On local manufacturing, the PTA chairman told lawmakers that 37 companies had been licensed to manufacture mobile phones in Pakistan, reducing imports to just 8% of the domestic market.

The IT minister said premium smartphones, including Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices, continue to be imported and are therefore subject to import duties.

Questioning Apple’s absence from Pakistan, Aminul Haque said companies such as Nokia and Samsung had already established operations in the country and urged the Ministry of IT to engage Apple, noting that the company had expanded into neighbouring markets, including India and Bangladesh. He said Pakistan should also be considered for future investment by the technology giant.