PPP says it will not back telecom bill in Senate without full committee scrutiny

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said on Monday that her party would not support any Pakistan Telecommunication Authority-related legislation in the Senate unless it was examined in detail by the relevant standing committee and the party’s proposed deletions were incorporated into the final draft.

The statement came as criticism continued over the Pakistan Telecommunication (Amendment) Bill 2026, which is intended to advance fibreisation across the country. Questions have intensified over the government’s push to move the bill through both houses of parliament, particularly over a provision that critics say would allow telecom companies to use public land without a fee. The bill was passed by the National Assembly on June 11, a day before the federal budget for 2026-27 was presented, and was laid before the Senate on June 15. It was then referred to the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication the same day before being deferred.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also formed a committee on Sunday to review the bill and submit recommendations.

In a post on X, Rehman said the Senate bill had been halted by the PPP because it still included provisions the party had repeatedly asked to be removed, especially Clause 27-A, which deals with telecom operators and the acquisition of private land.

She said National Assembly members from her party had been informed that those provisions had been removed before the bill was taken up there, but when the legislation reached the upper house, key clauses were still present. According to her, some objectionable sections had been deleted, but not all of them, prompting the party to insist that the matter be sent to the Senate committee.

Attributing the party’s position to concerns over the current draft, Rehman said the PPP was not opposed to fibreisation but would not support a version that retained what she described as encroachments on right of way, harsh penalties and redress mechanisms placed under the executive rather than an appropriate forum.

She also welcomed the government’s decision to set up a review committee, but said any revised provisions should be brought back to the standing committee. She said there was no need to rush the bill through parliament without satisfying the concerns of the PPP and other representatives, and suggested a public hearing so people could be assured their views were being heard.

Rehman said PPP members would again review the legislation in the standing committee and would resubmit the same amendments, adding that the party’s position on right of way and private property remained unchanged. She said private property was protected as a fundamental right and added that in previous cases, amendments had been submitted but key changes were later found missing despite assurances.

The bill has also drawn scrutiny from lawmakers in both the PPP and the PML-N, who questioned why provisions concerning telco towers and related equipment had been placed in legislation primarily meant to facilitate right-of-way for fibre infrastructure.

Recent changes in the telecom sector have seen operators move towards infrastructure sharing under the Passive Telecom Infrastructure Policy. There are about 50,000 telecom towers in Pakistan, of which roughly 26,000 are owned by Ufone/Telenor and Zong. Jazz has transferred nearly all of its 10,700 towers to Engro Enfrashare. This means that almost half of the country’s telecom tower assets are now in the hands of independent tower firms, including Engro Enfrashare, Edotco, Tower Power (Pvt) Ltd and TAWAL Telecom.

Separately, the Ministry of IT and Telecom had earlier said the proposed law would not permit telecom operators to enter private property without the consent of the owner, nor would it allow compulsory acquisition of private land.

Rehman said on X:

For the record, the PPP in the Senate will not be passing any IT/PTA/RWA legislation which is not thoroughly discussed threadbare in the Standing Committee of the Senate with our deletions assured in the final bill.

She added:

There is no hurry to push it through without satisfying us and other representatives. I would even suggest a public hearing to give people confidence that they are being heard.