Govt withdraws controversial telecom bill from Senate

Profit by Pakistan Today reported that the government took back its 2026 telecom amendment bill from the Senate on Friday, after sustained public objections. The move came after criticism of a clause that would have let telecom firms use private land for infrastructure. Interior State Minister Tallal Chaudhry presented the motion for Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, who did not attend.

The upper house endorsed the withdrawal motion during the closing sitting of its 363rd session, which formally removed the bill. Although the National Assembly had already approved it, the measure had been introduced in the Senate on June 15 and sent to a standing committee. Its proposed Section 27B would have let the government levy fines of up to Rs50 million on anyone who hindered or slowed the provision of access for a licensee.

According to Profit, the bill aimed to bring the National Telecommunication Corporation into line with a 2023 state-owned enterprises law, improving its governance, transparency and efficiency. The government had first defended the legislation after the criticism, then said it would review the proposed changes before withdrawing the bill altogether.