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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued an injunction on the government’s decision to block the mobile phone SIMs of non-tax filers.
On Friday, telecom operators agreed to initiate the manual blocking process in small batches of non-filers, ending the week-long standoff over the implementation of the tax machinery drive to broaden the tax base.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition of private telecom operator Zong.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja argued that the Constitutional amendment done in this regard was in violation of the basic right of freedom of business granted in Article 18.
“There can be no legislation contrary to the fundamental rights given in the Constitution,” he said.
The government cannot get the power to block people’s mobile phone SIMs by amending the law, Advocate Raja contested.
He noted that if more than 500,000 SIMs were blocked, there will be a loss of Rs1 billion annually.
The IHC sought a response from respondents by May 27.
More to follow
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