Questions about motives grew stronger, especially because of the government’s push to get it approved by both houses
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a committee to review the Telecommunications Reorganization (Amendment) Bill.
The committee will be headed by Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, while the members include Senator Sherry Rehman, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Finance Minister Ahad Cheema, Justice Mansoor Awan and experts related to law and IT.
The bill, which seeks amendments to a 1996 law and was tabled by IT minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, was approved by the National Assembly on June 11 by a majority vote. Later it was postponed by the Senate’s Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunications, where it was referred on 15 June.
Questions about the motives behind the bill had grown stronger, particularly because of the government’s push to get it approved by both houses of parliament.
After PTI senators objected and demanded that the proposed legislation be sent to the relevant standing committee, Senator Palwasha Khan, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom, called a meeting the following day, June 16.
The committee, which has been constituted to address the concerns raised against some of its provisions, will review the right-of-way (ROW) framework in Sections 2(qb), 2(ma), Sections 27A and 27B of the Telecommunications Reorganization Amendment Bill.
It will review the bill on the establishment of telecommunications facilities and discuss operations in relation to the private property and housing association domain before making its recommendations.
The premier directed the committee to review the bill on priority basis and present its proposal.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications clarified that the proposed ROW Bill 2026 will not allow forcible acquisition of private land or unauthorized access to citizens’ private properties.
According to the ministry, property owners will retain full rights to object, negotiate terms and demand appropriate compensation before work is carried out on their land. With input from APP
