Pakistan, June 26 -- The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stopped the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) from blocking nonregistered cellphones.

Hearing a petition filed by mobile dealers, the PHC ordered PTA not to block non-registered phones for three months.

Earlier in April, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)'s decision to block unregistered mobile phones had been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The hearing was conducted by Justice Athar Minallah of the IHC.

"The stance of the companies is correct and the PTA should mend the issue on priority basis while extending its previous deadline," he said.

PTA officials had told the court that they were in contact with the mobile companies on the issue....