Daily Times

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman on Monday clarified that the telecommunications regulator would not block the virtual private networks (VPNs) despite having the capability to do so.

Addressing a launching ceremony of the PTA annual report 2024, the authority chief said: “We had said earlier that we can block VPNs but we won’t do it.”

Earlier, the regularity authority decided against blocking VPNs as the government extended the deadline for registering proxies beyond November 30. However, a new date has not been announced for the VPN suspension.

Sources privy to the matter, however, said that lack of legal grounds was the reason behind the move.

The PTA chairman confirmed that they did not block any VPN till today. Nothing could be hidden from the people in this era, he added. Moving on to the internet related issues in the country, the PTA chairman said: “We don’t have answer when we are asked about internet shutdown owing to with national security.” “Questions related to national security should be asked from policymakers,” he said.

Separately, the federal government tabled the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, 2024, in the National Assembly session on Monday. The bill – aimed to create a digital identity for citizens, to centralise social, economic, and governance data – was tabled by the Minister of State for IT and Tele­communication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

The agenda said the legislation would “provide for the transformation of Pakistan into a digital nation, enabling a digital society, digital economy and digital governance”.

The bill was approved by the federal cabinet in June.

According to sources, the government plans to create two new bodies: the National Digital Commission (NDC), headed by the prime minister, including all four chief ministers and heads of organisations like the State Bank, FBR and PTA; and the Pakistan Digital Authority, to be led by top industry experts.

One of the major propositions under the new regime is a digital identity for every citizen. It would include data about an individual’s health, assets and other social indicators. The bill’s objective, as stated by officials, was to improve access to departments managing ID cards, land records, birth certificates and health records.

The digitisation effort would also target government departments, which will be given goal-oriented plans to improve services. The new digital ID programme will be along the same lines as the initiatives implemented in the UAE, India and Estonia.

However digital rights experts have called for more clarity on how the government intends to secure the centralised data system. Khawaja said earlier in the day that the bill would soon be passed by parliament to establish a unified digital identity for citizens, aiming to centralise social, economic and governance data.