ISLAMABAD: The government, on Wednesday, failed to satisfy the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication regarding blocking internet services in any part of the country, as it was not covered in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act.
The committee which met with Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan in the chair, here on Wednesday, also termed the IT exports target of $14 billion by 2029-30, set by the government as “unrealistic”, on account of lack of infrastructure, internet issues, as well as, low fibre optic in the country.
The committee also expressed serious reservations over massive taxes on mobile phones in the country and recommended for its rationalisation. It observed that smartphones are very expensive and beyond the reach of common man.
The committee members expressed serious concerns over connectivity issues across various regions of Pakistan and strongly disapproved of the arbitrary shutdown of internet services without justification.
The committee, while going through the PECA Act, noted that there was no such provision in the Act to block internet services in the country, which was also admitted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, as
well as, Pakistan Telecommunication Autho-rity (PTA).
Member Legal presented rules under PECA Act, where the committee observed that these rules were framed in violation and out of scope and were not in consonance with the Act.
The chairperson, along with other members, pointed out deficiencies in the monitoring mechanisms and criticised the lack of clarity surrounding internet shutdowns, despite a detailed briefing by the chairman of PTA on the disruptions.
Senator Palwasha remarked that blocking specific information and shutting down the internet entirely are fundamentally different actions, asserting that a complete internet shutdown is unjustifiable.
Senator Kamran Murtaza added that such shutdowns appear to be politically motivated rather than technical decisions, emphasising the need to depoliticise the process.
The chairperson further highlighted a report, which alleged losses in billions due to internet disruptions. She noted that, despite an additional millions allocated to improve services; the quality of internet in Pakistan remains poor compared to other countries, ranking just above Myanmar. She stressed that such reports likely have some basis. However, the ministry denied the claims, with senior officials clarifying that the national outages referenced in the news occurred only during elections.
The PTA chairman reported that social media applications are shut down based on orders from the Supreme Court and High Court. The committee directed that legal position on the rules framed under PECA Act, 2016, specifically in the light of outage of internet may be sought from Law Division and report be shared with the committee.
The secretary of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) acknowledged that internet shutdowns have significant impacts and emphasised the need to address public perceptions surrounding them.
The chairperson reiterated that such perceptions arise for a reason and called on the ministry to devise policies to tackle the negative narrative effectively.
The PTA chairman informed that they receive orders from the Interior Ministry for blocking internet and they comply with it. He said Interior Ministry secretary should be called on and asked about blocking the services.
He further said that Supreme Court and High Courts gave decisions in the past under these rules. The committee also sought details of such judgment, given under these rules. It recommended for review and rectifying PECA Act rules.
The PTA chairman said that around 500 complaints are received per day regarding different social platforms. The PTA processes these complaints and asks social media platforms to block it where around 80 percent are complied with and around 20 percent remain unaddressed. The ministry also failed to give the number of losses on account of blocking internet services in the country.
He admitted that despite pressure, virtual private networks (VPNs) were not blocked in the country. Two companies have applied for VPN licences, said the PTA chairman, adding that on December 19, licences for VPNs were opened and so far, two applications have been received. The PTA is scrutinising these applications.
He revealed that a big company has also approached Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) for VPN services. He said that a good number of applications for VPN were expected in next three to four months.
The government has set IT exports target of $4.1 billion for 2024-25, $5.8 billion for 2025-26, $6.2 billion for 2026-27, $8.2 billion for 2027-28, $11.8 billion for 2028-29, and $14 billion for 2029-30.
Additionally, the committee reviewed plans to enhance the country’s IT exports. The MoITT secretary reported aggregated growth for the year 2023-2024 and noted efforts to align the public’s perception with the actual progress being made.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments