The Telecom Bill That Slipped Through While Pakistan Looked Elsewhere
While we were all mourning the petrol price hikes and drowning in the chaos of inflation, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja quietly tabled the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill 2026. Most of us didn't even notice. The bill amended the 1996 Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) Act. It redefined certain terms and replaced Section 27A on Right of Way with a new Section 27B. What sounds like routine legislative work is anything but ordinary. This bill grants state-backed authorization to telecom companies to take over any private property or land and install 5G infrastructure including mobile towers and fiber-optic networks wherever they please. No consent required. No negotiation. Just entry and installation. The astonishing reality is that this draconian bill which grossly violates the fundamental rights of Pakistanis was approved by majority vote in the National Assembly on June 11, 2026. Not a single member objected. Nobody raised their voic...