Digital bill deferred despite initial consensus

The National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom, during a heated session on Wednesday, deferred the much-debated Digital Nation Pakistan Bill. This decision came after nearly all members of the committee had tentatively agreed to its contents following extensive discussions.

Committee Chairman Aminul Haque expressed his support for the bill despite intense debates, particularly from members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Minister of State for IT, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, actively responded to the criticism and addressed queries regarding the bill.

Members of the PPP, including Dr Mahesh Kumar, Sadiq Ali Memon, and Sharmila Farooqi, initially criticised the government for failing to provide adequate documentation prior to the meeting. However, after hearing the minister's clarifications, they expressed conditional agreement with the bill's provisions. Interestingly, Farooqi temporarily exited the meeting after making a comment to the committee chairman but returned later, requesting either a deferral of the bill or an immediate vote. "I have been sent back," she remarked enigmatically upon rejoining.

PTI members Omar Ayub and Sher Ali Arbab voiced their scepticism regarding the government's apparent haste in pushing the bill through. They suggested that additional time was necessary to engage with experts and industry stakeholders. Concerns were also raised about transparency, with Ayub cautioning against potential risks to citizens' digital security once the bill is enacted.

In defence of the legislation, Khawaja underscored the urgent need for national digitalisation, citing the prolonged efforts of countries like China and India, which took 15 and 24 years, respectively, to digitise their economies. She stressed that delaying digitalisation initiatives could leave Pakistan technologically backward. "If we do not digitalise, we will regress to the stone age, as technology waits for no one," she declared.

The state minister further elaborated that even a two-day delay in approving the bill could result in a two-month delay in its overall passage through Parliament. She assured the committee that the bill had undergone extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders and dismissed the notion that technology should be viewed solely through the lens of surveillance or politics.

"If we continue to see everything from a security surveillance perspective, we might as well turn off our televisions, mobile phones, and cars, and return to the old days," Khawaja remarked pointedly.

Despite these assurances, several committee members expressed strong reservations about the rapid pace of the bill's advancement. During a briefing to the committee, IT Secretary Zarar Khan highlighted that digitisation was a devolved subject among various governmental departments. Pullain Baloch, an MNA from the National Party, cautioned against hasty legislation, drawing parallels to the controversy surrounding the recently debated Madrassa Bill. "We must ensure the parliament does not make a mockery of itself again," he warned.

Ultimately, the committee chairman decided to defer the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill to allow for further consultations.