THE telecommunications sector is one of the most important business sectors in Pakistan. In the last one decade or so investment in this sector has increased greatly, creating opportunities for employment too.

However, there is one very critical problem about background screening before hiring employees. Recently two brutal incidents occurred: one was the APS school attack in which more than 150 children were killed and the other was the attack on a bus in Safoora Goth in which 48 people were massacred.

In both the massacres the news reports clearly mentioned that cellular service companies’ employees were involved . According to recent press reports, Saad Aziz, the mastermind behind the Safoora Goth bus attack, was an employee of a cellular service firm.

Here a critical question arises: are there any checks and balances as regards employees of the telecommunications sector? According to my information, there is no law which makes it mandatory for an organisation to conduct a background check before hiring employees.

People working in the telecommunications sector in key positions have access to important data and can use the same to commit acts of terror.

Biometric re-verification of SIMs is not enough for the success of the National Action Plan until there is full control on employees and their activities inside and outside their offices.

While hiring people in this important sector, there must be some psychological test/interview to be taken by someone related to intelligence agencies to diagnose if there are inherent terrorist tendencies in any candidate.

Abid Saeed

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2015

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