ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday withdrew proposed telecommunications legislation that would have given operators broad authority to access private and public land after facing strong opposition over concerns relating to property rights.
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry formally withdrew the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Amendment Bill 2026 in the Senate on behalf of Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja.
The government also announced that a new draft of the proposed legislation would be introduced to expedite the legislative process while retaining the core objectives of the withdrawn bill.
The withdrawal came as the legislation approached its mandatory 90-day deadline for Senate approval, after which it would have been referred to a joint sitting of Parliament.
“Upon expiry of the prescribed period, the bill would have proceeded to a joint sitting of Parliament, the convening of which may not take place in the near future,” the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication said in a statement.
The ministry said the new bill would retain the essence of the proposed legislation while addressing the concerns that had emerged during the legislative process.
The original draft sought to amend the 1996 telecommunications law to remove right-of-way bottlenecks and facilitate the expansion of 5G networks and nationwide fibre-optic infrastructure.
Telecom operators had strongly supported the proposed changes, citing prolonged delays in obtaining no-objection certificates from provincial authorities, cantonment boards and private real estate developments.
However, several provisions triggered controversy, particularly those relating to access to private property.
Under the proposed legislation, access requests to public land or organised private developments, including housing societies and commercial estates, could have been deemed approved if the relevant authorities or managers failed to respond within 30 days.
The draft also proposed preventing public authorities and organised private developments from charging operators fees, rents or access charges, while fines of up to Rs50 million could have been imposed on entities obstructing telecommunications infrastructure work.
Legal experts, digital rights groups and the Islamabad Bar Association opposed the measures, arguing that they could undermine constitutional protections relating to private property and permit forced access to premises.
Opposition parties and key coalition partners, including the Pakistan Peoples Party, also refused to support the legislation, prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to order a review of the proposed amendments.
Government officials said the new draft would retain right-of-way provisions for public land but would explicitly require prior consent for telecommunications installations on private property.
The revised legislation is expected to seek a balance between the telecom sector’s demand for faster infrastructure deployment and constitutional protections governing ownership and use of private property.
