The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled against Zong in its appeal, ordering the telecom company to refund over Rs2 billion to its customers. The ruling upholds an earlier decision by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that directed Zong to return Rs2.02 billion wrongfully charged for service and maintenance fees between April 26, 2019, and July 12, 2019.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice in May 2018 of public complaints regarding unreasonable deductions on prepaid cards. On June 11, 2018, the court observed that service charges could not be validly and legally imposed on the amounts loaded by users of mobile phone devices. This relief was extended to postpaid consumers on October 16, 2018, leading operators to suspend such charges.

On March 27, 2019, telecom operators informed the Supreme Court that they had ceased imposing service charges and did not plan to reinstate them. However, after the Supreme Court concluded the suo motu case on April 24, 2019, several operators, including Zong, resumed deductions. The PTA responded by directing Zong on August 30, 2019, to refund Rs2,028,038,584 to customers in the form of balance without validity restrictions.

The PTA also requested details of the collected charges, which Zong failed to provide. Instead, the company challenged the directive in the IHC, arguing that the absence of interim orders from the Supreme Court allowed the collection of such charges. The IHC dismissed this contention, ruling the PTA’s directive lawful and binding.

Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb dismissed the appeal.