NA body defers Electronic Transactions Amendment Bill, 2026

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Tuesday once again deferred the Electronic Transactions Amendment Bill, 2026, as the government sought more time to reach an agreement with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over proposed changes to the legislation.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, chaired by Aminul Haq, took the decision after the Ministry of Law and Justice requested additional time to finalise the amendments in consultation with the PPP.

A ministry representative told the committee that discussions with the PPP were at an advanced stage and consensus was expected shortly. The bill will be reconsidered at the next meeting.

The committee also expressed frustration over the persistently poor internet services across the country, noting that nearly two years of parliamentary scrutiny had failed to yield any meaningful improvement.

The members noted that unreliable connectivity persisted even in major cities such as Karachi and Islamabad, with smaller towns and remote districts faring worse and frequent signal drops disrupting even WhatsApp calls.

Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) Chairman Major Gen Hafeezur Rehman (Retd) told the committee that five show-cause notices had been issued to telecom operators over poor service quality in the past three months, but recovery of penalties remained stalled as the operators had secured stay orders from courts.

He attributed much of the disruption to prolonged power outages, particularly in rural areas where electricity cuts lasted between 12 and 16 hours a day.

On 5G deployment, Rehman said around 70 percent of services in Karachi had been rolled out, while approximately 2,300 telecom towers had been upgraded to support the technology.

The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) also briefed the committee on the National Digital Master Plan, aimed at promoting a digital society, economy and governance.

The authority projected that digital transformation could add between USD 60 billion and USD 80 billion to the country’s gross domestic product over the next five years.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026