Pakistan to Regulate International Incoming Calls, PTA Gets Policy Direction From IT Ministry

The Government of Pakistan has decided to regulate international incoming telephone calls, a move that sources within the Ministry of Information Technology say is aimed at improving government revenue, national security, and transparency across the country’s international call infrastructure.

The Ministry of IT has formally issued a policy direction to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), instructing the regulator to develop and implement a framework for overseeing calls originating from outside Pakistan. The decision marks a significant shift in how the country intends to manage its international telecom traffic going forward.

LDI Operators at the Centre

All international calls entering Pakistan are currently routed through Long Distance International (LDI) operators, licensed companies that manage cross-border voice traffic and serve as the legal gateway for overseas calls terminating on Pakistani networks.

LDI licensees are required under existing PTA regulations to ensure complete accounting of foreign traffic across all access provider networks, with monitoring systems capable of identifying, analysing, and reconciling all data and voice signalling. The new regulatory push is expected to build significantly on this existing framework, tightening controls and closing gaps that have historically allowed traffic to leak through unofficial, unmonitored channels.

Under the proposed regulation, the role of local operators and LDI companies is expected to increase, as more international call traffic is formally routed, monitored, and accounted for through licensed channels.

Consultations Underway With Industry

The Ministry of IT sources confirm that the policy direction has been issued to PTA, but the final regulatory framework has not yet been approved. Consultations with relevant companies and industry stakeholders are currently in progress, and the formal approval to implement the regulation will be granted by the authority only after this consultation process is complete.

This phased approach, policy direction first, industry consultation second, and formal approval third, suggests the government is moving carefully to avoid disrupting existing commercial arrangements while still asserting stronger regulatory control.

What Regulation Will Achieve

According to Ministry of IT sources, the regulation of international incoming calls is expected to deliver three core outcomes:

Revenue: A properly monitored international call system means the government can more accurately account for traffic volumes, apply applicable levies, and reduce revenue leakage caused by calls bypassing legal channels. Grey traffic, the use of illegal exchanges for making international calls that bypass legal routes, has historically caused significant government revenue losses, as such calls avoid local taxes and are difficult to track.

Security: Bringing international call traffic under formal PTA oversight creates a verifiable, auditable record of inbound telecommunications, a meaningful tool for national security agencies that monitor communication flows.

Transparency: Standardized routing through LDI operators and PTA-monitored systems means that call volumes, termination rates, and traffic patterns become measurable and reportable, eliminating the opacity that has long characterized Pakistan’s international call ecosystem.

PTA Preparing for Oversight Role

PTA is now preparing to take on an active monitoring role over international telecom traffic, according to sources. The authority is expected to strengthen its control over international call flows, building on its existing regulatory mandate but with sharper tools and a clearer legal framework once the final approval is in place.

Under existing PTA regulations, monitoring systems implemented by LDI licensees must have the ability to accurately measure, control, record, and monitor traffic in real time, maintaining comprehensive signalling records including billing information. The new framework is expected to expand and enforce these requirements more rigorously across all operators.

The current initiative appears to have learnt from that experience, prioritizing industry consultation, phased implementation, and a focus on transparency rather than rate manipulation. If executed well, effective regulation of international incoming calls could meaningfully strengthen Pakistan’s telecom revenue base while also giving security agencies better visibility over cross-border communications.