NA panel defers electronic transactions bill again as PPP talks continue
The PTA chairman told the same committee that five show-cause notices went to telecom operators in three months, but court stay orders have blocked penalty recovery.
ISLAMABAD: A National Assembly standing committee deferred the Electronic Transactions Amendment Bill, 2026 again on Tuesday, after the Ministry of Law and Justice asked for more time to settle the draft with the Pakistan Peoples Party.
The Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, chaired by Aminul Haq, heard from a ministry representative that talks with the PPP were at an advanced stage and that consensus was expected shortly. The bill will be taken up at the committee's next meeting, leaving it pending while the government completes its consultations.
Members used the same sitting to press the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on internet service, saying nearly two years of parliamentary scrutiny had produced no meaningful improvement. Connectivity remains unreliable in Karachi and Islamabad, they said, and smaller towns and remote districts fare worse, with signal drops breaking even WhatsApp calls. Complaints raised in earlier meetings had gone unanswered, members said.
PTA Chairman Major Gen Hafeezur Rehman (Retd) told the committee that five show-cause notices had been issued to telecom operators over poor service quality in the past three months. Penalty recovery has not moved, he said, because the operators have obtained stay orders from courts.
The chairman traced much of the disruption to prolonged power cuts and said rural areas face electricity outages of 12 to 16 hours a day.
On 5G, Rehman said about 70 percent of services in Karachi had been rolled out and roughly 2,300 telecom towers upgraded to carry the technology.
The Pakistan Digital Authority briefed the committee on the National Digital Master Plan, which it presented as a framework for a digital society, economy and governance. The authority projected that digital transformation could add between USD 60 billion and USD 80 billion to the country's gross domestic product over the next five years.
PTA fines telecom operators Rs3.41 billion over poor service quality
Figures given to Express News show 86 show-cause notices and 20 warning letters over four years, with operators told to clear coverage gaps by October 2026.
PTA and Meta block 176,000 WhatsApp accounts on recycled SIMs
The regulator has shared about 10 million recycled numbers with the platform and will send 5,000 a month to catch accounts left active after old SIMs were cancelled.
PTA begins blocking WhatsApp accounts tied to inactive SIM cards
The regulator says a deactivated number reissued to a new subscriber can cost the old owner control of the account, and wants users to update registration.
PM approves restructuring of TDAP to push exports
Shehbaz Sharif ordered merit-based hiring and an outside audit firm after a review of the trade authority's performance in Islamabad.
PAC tells foreign ministry to tighten accounting over mission fund abuse
The committee said staff in overseas missions were embezzling public money without accountability and ordered new secretary Asim Iftikhar Ahmad to send it revised rules.
Polio campaign reaches 22.1 million children in four days
The National Emergency Operations Centre says the fifth day of the 97-district round is under way and teams will keep working until November 8.
Pakistan's external debt doubles in a decade to $135.1bn, World Bank says
The International Debt Report 2026 puts public and publicly guaranteed borrowing at $107.1bn, with China the largest single creditor at $22.4bn.
Goods transporters cut freight charges by 5 percent
The All Pakistan Goods Transport Ittehad says the cut follows four to five days of petrol and diesel price reductions and wants prices lowered further.