Paid Rs113,000 tax but still blocked: Digital Media Journalist slams PTA, Meezan Bank over phone shutdown nightmare

A senior Pakistani Digital Journalist says the PTA blocked his legally registered Samsung S24 Ultra despite having paid Rs. 113,000 in taxes, disrupting his professional work and triggering online outrage.

IMRAN MALIK – MEDIABITES NEWS

A senior Pakistani journalist has accused the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Meezan Bank of “gross negligence” after his mobile phone was blocked despite paying more than Rs113,000 in taxes for device registration.

Imran Malik, Editor-in-Chief of MediaBites.com.pk, Sharjahnews.ae, Urduexpress.pk and a senior media professional, says his Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — purchased legally from the United States — was suddenly disconnected by Jazz on PTA’s instructions, allegedly over non-payment of PTA/FBR duties.

According to Malik, he completed the legal registration process immediately after returning to Pakistan and generated the official PSID through Meezan Bank within the given deadline. He also claims the full tax amount of Rs113,000 was paid successfully on his passport details before the due date.

However, despite completing the payment process, his mobile connection was suspended, leaving him unable to access calls, mobile data, banking apps, WhatsApp, newsroom coordination, and professional communication for the last three days.

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“The irony is shocking. I paid the huge tax legally and on time, yet I was treated like a defaulter,” Malik said while strongly criticizing PTA’s device verification and payment update mechanism.

The senior journalist stated that the disruption badly affected his professional responsibilities, including local and international journalistic assignments, communication with media teams, and urgent editorial operations.

Malik described the incident as a “digital shutdown” caused by poor coordination between PTA and Meezan Bank systems.

“In today’s world, disconnecting a journalist’s phone is equivalent to cutting him off from the entire world,” he said.

He further demanded an immediate restoration of services, correction of his payment status in PTA’s DIRBS system, and a formal apology from both PTA and Meezan Bank for what he called an unacceptable administrative failure.

Malik also urged authorities to compensate affected consumers facing similar issues.

“When citizens pay massive taxes honestly, they deserve service and respect — not harassment, humiliation, and professional loss,” he added.

The journalist further demanded at least a 50 percent refund of the paid tax amount, arguing that the inconvenience, mental stress, and professional damage caused by the error cannot be ignored.

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The incident has sparked discussion among social media users and journalists, many of whom have complained about delays, verification problems, and technical glitches in Pakistan’s mobile device registration system.

Critics say Pakistan’s already high smartphone taxation system becomes even more frustrating when legally paid devices are mistakenly blocked due to backend update failures or banking coordination issues.

Consumers have repeatedly called on PTA and related authorities to modernize the DIRBS system, improve payment synchronization with banks, and create faster complaint resolution mechanisms to prevent genuine users from suffering.

So far, neither PTA nor Meezan Bank has publicly responded to the allegations.