An important meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom was held under the chairpersonship of Senator Palwasha Khan, where key issues including social media regulations, the financial condition of the telecom sector, and the launch of 5G services were discussed.
The Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Major General (R) Hafeez ur Rehman, revealed during a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology that the authority receives approximately 400 social media-related complaints daily.
According to the authority, over the past year, more than 150,000 complaints have been forwarded to Meta platforms. He added that a new authority, SMRPA, has been established to oversee social media regulation.
During the meeting, the PTA chairman stated that until SMRPA becomes fully operational, PTA will continue to handle responsibilities such as blocking content and removing unlawful material.
Senator Palwasha Khan alleged bias on social media platform X, claiming that content against Israel is removed, including a tweet by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. In response, the PTA chairman said no formal complaint had been received regarding the matter and clarified that the account in question was personal.
Financial matters of the telecom sector were also discussed, with concern expressed over Ufone’s losses over the past five years. The IT Secretary noted that Ufone is owned by PTCL.
The committee also raised serious questions regarding the recovery of $800 million owed to the Government of Pakistan by the Etisalat Group. The committee chair questioned why Pakistan has not been able to recover its dues when other countries have succeeded.
Senator Afnanullah added that with profit, the amount could reach billions of dollars. The committee decided to hold a joint session with the Senate Privatization Committee on this issue.
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