PTA chairman says lifting of ban on X links to govt's directives

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeezur Rehman has said that the lifting of ban on social media site X is linked to the government's directives.   

The PTA chairman said this while attending a meeting of the Senate's Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat chaired by Rana Mahmoodul Hasan in Islamabad on Thursday.

Pakistan authorities suspended the social media platform in the country on February 17, citing national security concerns. However, it can be accessed through a virtual private network (VPN).

Following the ban, various petitions were filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the restrictions on the microblogging website and intermittent suspension of internet services in the country.

Last month, the federal government defended the ban on X in its response submitted to the SHC, saying that the move was "legitimate" when addressing national security concerns.

The matter also came under discussion today during the Senate body meeting when Senator Abdul Qadir asked whether the telecom regulator plans on removing the ban from the website.

"We will [remove the ban on X] on the day that the government asks us," said Rehman.

The chairman informed the lawmakers that only 7% of the complaints forwarded to the platform in the last three months have been addressed and that X has the lowest compliance ratio among all platforms.

Rehman explained that they only block social media platforms at the government's request. He added that they reach out to the platforms about any complaints related to social media that violate Pakistani law.

VPN being whitelisted

Speaking about the usage of VPNs in Pakistan, the PTA chairman said that the usage of X in Pakistan has decreased by 70% despite the availability of VPNs.

"Only 30% of people are using VPN," he said, highlighting that VPNs can be blocked.

He also told the members that the PTA is whitelisting VPNs after which only selected VPNs will be available in Pakistan.

Rehman said that about 56% of people have internet access. He added that the 5G auction is likely to be held in March-April next year.

When asked if content creators pay taxes from the income through international ads, the PTA chairman said there is no legislation in this regard at present.

Ads on social media

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that they are negotiating with international social media platforms — Facebook and Instagram — in this regard.

"Social media platforms are being used for commercial purposes while there is tax on it around the world," emphasised Tarar.

He also said that social media platforms are mulling to open virtual offices in Pakistan due to security concerns.

The cabinet secretary said the matter of advertisement on social media will be taken up to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The secretary then informed the meeting that the local manufacturing of mobile phones had been started. He added that people can buy phones in installments now which will help in promoting digitalisation.

"Around 37 local companies are manufacturing mobile phones in the country. About 20 million phones are being manufactured annually locally of which 40% are smartphones," he said.

Rehman said Pakistan has a 34.50% tax on telecom customers, adding that there has been no cyber attack on telecom in two years.