Internet shutdowns may not be justified: PTA chairman
Technology
Rules empower Interior ministry to direct PTA in such matters
ISLAMABAD (Hareem Jadoon) - Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeez ur Rehman admitted for the first time that internet shutdowns may not be justified.
The admission came during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology. Senator Palwasha Khan chaired the session, where officials from the Ministry of IT and PTA briefed the committee on disruptions to internet services.
Speaking at the session, the PTA chairman disclosed that the authority receives over 500 daily complaints regarding social media content. "We forward content removal requests to social media platforms, and 80% of such content is blocked," he stated.
However, the discussion turned heated when Senator Kamran Murtaza questioned the legal basis for blocking internet access in specific areas. "Where in the Act does it authorise the blocking of the internet in any particular region?" he asked.
A legal representative from the Ministry of IT responded, saying that the Act does not explicitly mention area-specific internet shutdowns. The PTA chairman added that rules empower the Ministry of Interior to direct the PTA in such matters.
"But if the law doesn't explicitly allow it, how can you block internet services?" Senator Murtaza differed. Responding defensively, the PTA chairman remarked, "If it's wrong, why has the government been instructing the authority to impose shutdowns for the past nine years?"
The senator said, "We are not the government; we represent Parliament." The PTA chairman shot back, "All of you have been part of the government at some point."
Senator Humayun Mohmand said the rules only pertain to content regulation, not service suspensions.
The PTA chairman clarified that final legal opinions on such matters could only be provided by the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Interior. He also pointed out that social media applications and internet services had been suspended on multiple occasions based on directives from the higher courts. "If internet shutdowns are wrong, was it also wrong to suspend services on February 8 during elections?" he questioned.
The Telecom secretary noted that the existing rules were drafted years ago. However, Senator Kamran Murtaza pressed further, asking, "Can rules override the Act? If there’s a Supreme Court decision, did the ministry file a review petition?"
