Amid criticism of telecom bill, Sherry says PPP will not support any IT legislation in Senate sans 'thorough' standing committee debate

Amid vocal criticism of a bill aimed at advancing fibreisation across the country, PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said on Monday that the party would not support any such legislation in the Senate unless it was “thoroughly discussed threadbare” in the relevant standing committee and the party’s proposed deletions were ensured in the final bill.

Concerns about the intentions behind the Pakistan Telecommunication (Amendment) Bill 2026 have intensified due to the timing of the government’s attempt to secure its passage through both houses of Parliament and criticism against its clause to allow telecommunication companies to use public land without a fee.

The bill was approved by the National Assembly (NA) on June 11, a day before the presentation of the federal budget 2026-27, and was presented in the Senate on June 15. It was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication on June 15, before being deferred. On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also formed a committee to review the bill and submit its recommendations.

In a post on the social media platform X on Monday, Rehman said, “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 maintained that the bill transmitted by the NA was stopped in the Senate “by us because it still contained draconian clauses we had repeatedly asked to be removed, especially 27-A”.

The aforementioned clause of the bill deals with telecom operators and the acquisition of private land.

“Our NA members were told these [had] been removed when the bill was moved there. Some other unacceptable clauses were removed but all were still not deleted when the bill was transmitted to us in the upper House, which is why we insisted on sending it to the standing committee in the Senate,” she added.

“We are certainly not against fiberisation in Pakistan, but have been refusing to pass the current bill with existing encroachments on right of way, egregious penalties and even redressal mechanisms, which should not be in the hands of the executive,” she asserted.

“While I appreciate the constitution of a government committee to look into its flaws, these should be brought to the standing committee once re-proposed. Our chair is fully briefed,” she said.

“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,” the senator said.

“Our members will examine it there in the standing committee again. We will put the same amendments again as our position remains unchanged on right of way and private property. The latter is protected as a fundamental right,” she added.

“In the past, we have given all amendments only to find key ones missing despite assurances they [would] be in the bill. I look forward to seeing the amended bill in [the] committee and Senate. That is the appropriate forum,” she said.

The bill has faced scrutiny from members of both the PPP and PML-N, who questioned why provisions related to “telco towers and related equipment” were included in a law primarily aimed at facilitating right-of-way for fibre infrastructure.

In recent years, telcos have made a strategic shift towards infrastructure sharing following the implementation of the Passive Telecom Infrastructure Policy.

There are around 50,000 telecom towers in the country, of which about 26,000 are owned by Ufone/Telenor and Zong. Jazz is the only telco in the country that has offloaded almost all of its 10,700 towers to Engro Enfrashare. As a result, nearly half of the country’s telco tower portfolio is now owned by independent tower companies, including Engro Enfrashare, Edotco, Tower Power (Pvt) Ltd and TAWAL Telecom.

Meanwhile, seeking to clarify its position, the Ministry of IT and Telecom had earlier issued a statement saying the bill does not allow telecom operators to enter private property without the owner’s permission or permit the compulsory acquisition of private land.