In a bid to avoid missing budget targets, the Pakistan government has called on Etisalat to quickly pay off at least $500 million the UAE telco has been withholding as part-payment for its three-year-old stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL).
Etisalat is a major shareholder PTCL, but has been refusing to part with around $800 million to the Pakistani government after failing to receive certain properties during PTCL’s privatization process.
In exchange for prompt payment of the majority of the funds, the government has promised to transfer 98% of these disputed properties within 10 days, Dawn.comreported.
The government hopes to receive the funds from Etisalat by the end of Pakistan's financial year on June 30.
Etisalat has been holding out on paying the $800 million for three years. The contentious properties have not yet been transferred to Etisalat because local governments and some owners of private properties had been refusing to give up on the assets.
But prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has approved the transfer of all properties owned by local and federal government organizations, and the majority of properties owned by private parties can be bought on-market for a nominal sum, government officials believe.