Web Desk: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif established a high-level committee on Sunday to review the controversial Pakistan Telecommunication Re-organisation Amendment Bill, responding to mounting anxiety over severe private property regulations passed by the National Assembly.
The legislative amendment mandates that private property owners, tenants, and public institutions must provide space to licensed telecommunication companies for installing mobile towers or laying optical fiber cables.
Under the new rules, any individual or institution refusing to cooperate faces a massive penalty of 50 million rupees (approximately $180,000).
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar will lead the newly formed committee to evaluate these aggressive measures.
The prime minister also appointed Senator Sherry Rehman, Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Federal Minister Ahad Khan Cheema to the review body.
Additionally, Attorney General Mansoor Awan alongside top legal and IT industry experts will assist the panel.
The committee holds the specific mandate to review the “Right of Way” framework under Section 2 of the proposed law. Members will draft fresh proposals regarding the deployment of telecommunication infrastructure and its interaction with private land boundaries.
PM Shehbaz Sharif directed the committee to expedite their review and present balanced recommendations quickly.
Although the National Assembly has already approved the amendment, the bill must clear the Senate before becoming law. Legal experts and civil rights groups have raised concerns that the legislation infringes upon fundamental property rights.
The government, conversely, maintains that infrastructure expansion is vital to modernizing Pakistan’s digital architecture.
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