Govt rejects allegations telecom bill drafted to benefit companies, individuals

• Requested PM to order inquiry after allegations: IT minister.
• NA passed telecom bill with six amendments: law minister.
• Tarar rejects allegations of financial benefit against IT minister.
  

The federal government on Sunday denied allegations that the IT ministry had prepared the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organisation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to provide undue benefit to any individual or company.

Addressing a press conference alongside IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja in Islamabad, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the allegations of financial benefit against the IT minister and the IT secretary, made under the pretext of the bill, were unfounded.

According to Tarar, the parliamentary committee had found no evidence that the legislation was intended to favour any individual and noted that the National Assembly had passed the bill with six amendments.

The law minister said the legislation primarily addressed issues involving housing societies that entered into agreements but later created obstacles to the development of telecom infrastructure.

He clarified that the consent of property owners would remain mandatory before laying fibre-optic cables through private land.

The law minister emphasised that any citizen who did not wish to allow telecom infrastructure on their private property had the legal right to refuse, reiterating that the proposed law would not result in the forced use or occupation of anyone's private property.

The telecom bill — passed by the National Assembly on June 11 — sparked controversy after being referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology, where lawmakers raised serious concerns over its Right of Way (ROW) provision.

Later, the IT ministry asserted that the ROW provisions in the bill do not permit telecom operators to enter individual private property without the owner's permission or due legal process, and do not authorise compulsory acquisition of private land.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also constituted a high-level committee to examine the proposed legislation after public concerns and media discussions emerged regarding the bill.

Speaking during today's press conference, the IT minister said she had requested the prime minister to order a formal inquiry after allegations made against her and the IT secretary regarding their financial integrity.

The minister said that she would fully accept responsibility if any wrongdoing was established through the investigation and would abide by whatever decision the prime minister made.

However, she added that if the allegations were found to be baseless, both she and the IT secretary reserved the legal right to pursue legal action under the Constitution and relevant laws after consulting legal experts.