Pakistan's telecoms regulator has proposed removing the one-year limit on its authority to reconsider merger and transaction approvals, replacing the fixed review window with language that lets the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) revisit deals whenever market conditions change.

The change sits inside PTA's formal comments on the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication's draft Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026. Under the ministry's draft, PTA can review, revise, modify or withdraw any determination or approval within one year of issuance.

PTA's amendment would drop that fixed window and substitute wording permitting reconsideration "as and when required." The scope extends to mergers, acquisitions, amalgamations, joint ventures, transfers of control, spectrum consolidation and restructuring — any transaction the regulator considers capable of materially affecting competition, market concentration, infrastructure access or consumer welfare.

Once a review opens, PTA could issue a no-objection certificate, impose transaction-specific conditions, require behavioural or operational safeguards, or refer the matter to another competent authority.

The proposal lands while the broader Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026 remain unfinalised. The framework is caught in a jurisdictional dispute between PTA and the Competition Commission of Pakistan over competition-related authority that has delayed sign-off.

Why does a one-year cap matter?

A fixed review window protects closed transactions from reopened regulatory scrutiny. Operators and tower companies that complete acquisitions or spectrum trades typically expect the resulting combination to stand on stable regulatory footing rather than indefinite second-guessing.

PTA's stated rationale is that one year is too narrow for telecoms markets that shift quickly. New entrants, revised spectrum allocations or fresh consumer-harm evidence can surface long after a deal clears, the regulator's comments argue. Replacing the cap with "as and when required" language would let PTA act on those changes without waiting for the next transaction to raise them.

The proposal also targets an enforcement gap. Under the ministry's current draft, PTA loses its authority to revisit a cleared transaction once twelve months pass, regardless of any new information that emerges. The amendment would close that window.

What transactions fall under the rules?

The draft defines qualifying deals as those that PTA considers capable of "materially affecting" competition. According to the documentation, these include:

• Mergers, acquisitions and amalgamations involving PTA-licensed operators
• Joint ventures and transfers of control between licensees
• Spectrum consolidation trades
• Corporate or network restructurings

After a review, PTA can clear the deal, attach conditions, demand behavioural or operational safeguards, or escalate to another competent authority.

What is holding the rules up?

The Competition Commission of Pakistan and PTA have clashed over which body should police competitive conduct in the telecoms sector. That jurisdictional contest — not the substance of PTA's proposed amendment — is the immediate obstacle to the 2026 rules becoming law.

Both agencies have asserted competing claims of authority. Until the dispute resolves, the ministry's draft, including PTA's proposed wording, cannot advance to notification.

What happens next?

PTA's comments have gone through the standard inter-ministerial consultation process. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication must weigh the regulator's request against the Competition Commission's position before publishing a final version of the rules.

A ministry decision could come within months if the jurisdictional dispute is settled at the cabinet level. Without that resolution, the 2026 rules risk slipping into 2027, leaving merger and spectrum-deal reviews on the existing fragmented footing.