Only in-camera briefing on firewall, ministry tells Senate panel

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) informed the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication of its willingness to give an in-camera briefing on renewal of LID/FLL licences and on firewall on social media in the next meeting of the committee.

The Senate panel had sought the five-year spectrum plan for 2024-29 from the MoITT in a meeting held under Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan here at the Parliament House on Wednesday. During the meeting, low quality of internet services in the country also came under discussion and matters of no network coverage in the Salt Range of the motorway and no 2G service on the Karachi-Sukkur Motorway were also discussed.

Senator Anusha Rehman said the internet quality of service had degraded across the country. “What are we doing for improvement of the service and more spectrum?” she asked.

During the meeting, the issue of installation of firewall on social media and the issue of LDI companies were discussed and Minister of State Shaza Fatima requested for an in-camera briefing on both agendas in the next meeting. Senator Anusha Rehman raised the matter of LDIs and stated that it was an important matter and should be discussed in the meeting. The state minister said the LDIs issue had been resolved. Senator Anusha Rehman said according to her information, the ministry had withdrawn the LDI notification, but the LDI issue should be investigated as no secretary could issue a notification without the directive of the federal government.

Committee Chairperson Palwasha said the federal secretary had been made an OSD by the government. Later, the committee called for an in-camera briefing on the issue of LDI companies in the next meeting.

The meeting started with a detailed briefing by the Universal Service Fund (USF) on the province-wise project details. Officials reported that in Balochistan, there were currently seven projects in progress, 27 projects completed and there were a total of 34 access projects for the province. Similarly, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, there were 18 access projects, with 10 completed and eight in progress. In Punjab, there were 29 total access projects, with 25 completed and four in progress. In Islamabad, both access projects had been completed. In Sindh, there were 19 total access projects, with 16 completed and three in progress.

The lack of attention to Tharparkar area was highlighted, and it was reported that now the area was being prioritised. When asked about 3G services in various areas of Balochistan, it was reported that most of the 3G projects had been completed. However, Balochistan faces security issues that often hinder project completion, the meeting was told.

State Minister Shaza Fatima briefed the meeting on the current budget of the ministry and its spending plan. In addition, the MoITT secretary provided information on IT professional certifications, project KPIs, project impact, and the targets achieved. The secretary further added that the government was ensuring sufficient infrastructure available for freelancers and emphasised the need to encourage the private sector.

The CEO of the National Information Technology Board (NITB) Baber Majid Bhatti briefed the committee members on its mandate, functions, work, and services.