TTAP demands removal of IT Minister over 'anti-people' telecommunication bill

ISLAMABAD: The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Sunday demanded the removal of Minister of IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja over a controversial telecommunication bill and sought representation in an inquiry committee investigating the matter “to ensure impartiality”. The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill 2026, which seeks changes to a 1996 act and was tabled by the IT minister, was approved by the National Assembly (NA) on June 11 by a majority vote. It is currently pending before the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication, where it was referred on June 15. The proposed changes have been the subject of discussion on social media, with some users voicing concerns over provisions relating to the use of private property for infrastructure such as telecom towers. TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmad Yousufzai said the bill — presented in Senate for final approval after passage through the cabinet and National Assembly — was stopped due to the “timely intervention by the Senate committee chairperson, who objected to the anti-people legislation”. He alleged that the bill would have enabled telecom operators to legally install cellphone towers on private properties anywhere in Pakistan. “The private owner of the property would have no right to object to it, and if the property owner refused to comply, the owner would have been punished with a fine of Rs50 million regardless of the value of the property,” he claimed. “We oppose this draconian law as it breaches the fundamental right of the citizen as envisaged in our constitution. It restricts constitutional property rights and it encroaches upon the privacy of a citizen,” he said. Yousufzai claimed that bill was initiated and passed by the NA without any of the meaningful consultation required for such important legislation. The TTAP spokesperson alleged that the IT minister had accepted a misstep in proceeding without proper scrutiny of t