ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology (IT) reported to the Senate Committee that a draft bill for personal data protection law has been completed, as concerns regarding data safety have grown in recent times.
When the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) briefed members in a Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication meeting that no telecom data were found on the dark web in the last two years, he highlighted how essential it was to have a national-level policy for data security.
Presided over by Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, the session debated topics such as data robbery, telecom services, and the forthcoming 5G auction of the spectrum.
The PTA Chairman acknowledged that, while telecom data had not been exposed recently, other sensitive information was still being found on the dark web. He urged a thorough investigation to identify the sources of these leaks, noting that PTA conducted an internal inquiry in 2022 and that the Ministry of the Interior had since launched a formal probe.
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Senator Afnan Ullah Khan observed that information was usually stolen independently from institutions, collated, and then put up for sale.
The chairman of the committee told a personal story of receiving a phony bank-related call and described his dismay at fraudsters having access to sensitive information.
The committee was alarmed at the delay in putting forth personal data protection legislation. The Ministry of IT had briefed that a draft bill had been drawn up and consultations with stakeholders were in progress. Senator Afnan Ullah cautioned, however, that any further delay could leave the nation vulnerable to grave security threats.
The committee also heard the case of refund of more than Rs6 billion in taxes to consumers by a telecommunication company. The case was forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at the request of the audit authorities. Officials informed that PTA had already provided documents for verification.
Senator Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto expressed apprehensions regarding the poor quality of cellular services, pointing towards frequent call drops and the lack of even 2G coverage on the Karachi-Sukkur Motorway. He demanded that the problems be fixed urgently.
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The committee also examined the long-pending merger between Ufone and Telenor. Officials at the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) suggested that the deal was finally in its final stages and could be completed within two weeks. Senator Kamran Murtaza raised whether the merger could actually be finalized in so little time considering how much delay had come about till now.
Ministry of IT officials guaranteed the committee that the 5G auction would take place in December. The PTA Chairman further stated that the Authority was well prepared, although some issues still needed to be resolved.
