Pakistan is considering international arbitration against UAE-based Etisalat to recover about $800 million still unpaid from the 2005 sale of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), along with its opportunity cost since 2008 and applicable damages.
The matter came up on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, at a joint meeting of the Senate standing committees on information technology and privatisation. The meeting was jointly chaired by Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation, and Senator Palwasha Khan, chairwoman of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications.
According to a Ministry of Privatisation briefing reported by Dawn, the government sold a 26 percent stake in PTCL, along with management control, to Etisalat International Pakistan in 2005 for $2.59 billion. Of that amount, $1.76 billion was received, while approximately $800 million remains unpaid.
The unpaid amount is linked to the transfer of PTCL properties to the new management. The briefing said 99 percent of the properties have been transferred, but 32 of the 3,246 properties remain untransferred. Etisalat, now known as e&, has continued to withhold the outstanding amount because of the non-transfer of these properties.
The federal cabinet has directed the Office of the Attorney General for Pakistan to implement its decision under Rule 24 of the Rules of Business, 1973, at the earliest. A committee formed in July 2026 under the prime minister’s adviser on privatisation, with members from the IT and law ministries and the Attorney General’s office, recommended considering international arbitration as provided under the share purchase agreement, given the dispute’s 20-year history.
No case has been filed yet. The committee recommended that the Attorney General first assess the merits of the case, its chances of success and the legal risks. If the merits allow arbitration, approval from the prime minister or the federal government should be sought before issuing a Notice of Intent to Etisalat.
Sources: Dawn (4 Nov 2026), TechJuice (4 Nov 2026), ProPakistani (4 Nov 2026), Pakistan Observer (4 Nov 2026). All four agree on the $2.59bn / $1.76bn / $800m figures and the arbitration consideration; the ‘filed’ claim is NOT made.
Image note: The image above is an AI-generated illustration for this story, not an actual event photo.