Says contracts cannot be revoked unilaterally after agreement, consideration completed
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar addresses a joint press conference alongside IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja in Islamabad on Sunday. SCREENGRAB
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Sunday said a committee constituted by the prime minister to resolve concerns over proposed amendments to telecommunication laws had unanimously agreed to revise the draft legislation, making the consent of property owners mandatory before any telecommunications infrastructure could be installed on private land.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted the committee following strong criticism from both government allies and opposition lawmakers, who demanded a thorough review of the bill and amendments to its contentious provisions.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad alongside Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Tarar said the revised draft of The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill explicitly required a property owner’s consent before any right-of-way could be granted over private land.
Read: Review committee proposes overhaul of contentious telecom bill’s provisions, upholds property rights
He said the amended draft also introduced clearer definitions of key terms, including right-of-way, above-ground and underground infrastructure, and the installation of telecommunications equipment to remove ambiguity.
Explaining the changes, the law minister said the earlier draft had referred to “mutual consent”, but the revised version now made such consent mandatory.
“Initially, it only stated that negotiations would take place. Now we have made it clear that if access is required through any private property — whether a house, shop, vacant plot or agricultural land — the owner’s permission must first be obtained. It is now a precondition,” he said.
Tarar said if the two parties were unable to agree on the terms and conditions, they could approach the relevant authority. However, he stressed that since the arrangement was based on mutual consent and the free will of both parties, the usual enforcement mechanisms would not apply at that stage.
He added that once an agreement had been reached and consideration received, neither party could unilaterally withdraw from the contract.
“If the terms and conditions have been settled, payment has been made, and all matters agreed upon, one party cannot later decide not to continue with the agreement. In such cases, the appropriate authority will deal with the matter,” he said.
The minister said that if an operator failed to make agreed payments, the authority would issue the necessary directions. Likewise, if a property owner, after voluntarily entering into an agreement and receiving payment, attempted to obstruct or terminate the arrangement during the contract period, the matter would also be dealt with under the law.
“If the owner has willingly agreed, is receiving rent and has already been compensated, they cannot disrupt the arrangement during the contract period. Agreements are meant to be honoured, just as we are bound to fulfil contracts in our daily lives,” he said.
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Tarar said the committee had unanimously resolved the issue and submitted its report to the prime minister.
“The amended draft will now be sent to the Senate Standing Committee, making it clear that no one can be compelled to grant right-of-way over private property without the owner’s consent,” he said.
He clarified, however, that separate provisions would apply to state-owned land, other public property and housing schemes.
The law minister noted that right-of-way legislation had existed for decades, saying such provisions were necessary to facilitate the provision of essential services.
“Without this law, it would not be possible to provide electricity, gas, internet and many other essential utilities to the public,” he said.
Tarar said the earlier version of the bill had been passed by the National Assembly with six amendments, but concerns over its wording were subsequently raised in the Senate Standing Committee.
Speaking on the occasion, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the original law, enacted in 2006, required amendments to meet the country’s evolving connectivity needs.
She said Pakistan’s data consumption had increased by around 25 per cent over the past two years, underscoring the need to expand spectrum capacity and strengthen telecommunications infrastructure.
Shaza said spectrum availability had increased from 274 megahertz (MHz) to around 750MHz through the country’s largest-ever spectrum auction. She added that the rollout of 5G services would require further investment in fibre-optic networks, telecom towers and related infrastructure.
The minister noted that Pakistan currently had fewer than three million fibre-to-the-home connections despite a population of around 240 million, adding that the government aimed to increase the figure to 10 million homes over the next three years.
Responding to public concerns over the proposed right-of-way provisions, Shaza said expanding internet access remained a key priority of the Ministry of Information Technology, while assuring that efforts to improve connectivity would not come at the expense of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Read More: Right-of-way reform critical for digital economy
The bill, which seeks changes to a 1996 Act and was tabled by IT minister, was approved by the National Assembly on June 11 by a majority vote. Later, it was deferred by the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication, where it was referred on June 15.
Questions over the motives behind the bill had grown stronger, particularly because of the government’s push to have it approved by both houses of parliament.
Following reservations raised by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) over the bill, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key ally of the government, also withheld its support, with Senator Sherry Rehman categorically stating that her party would not allow any legislation related to the information technology sector, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority or right of way to pass through the Senate unless it was thoroughly scrutinised and amended by the relevant standing committee.
The prime minister later constituted a committee to review the bill and tasked it with addressing concerns raised over some of its provisions. The committee was mandated to examine the Right of Way framework under Sections 2(qb), 2(ma), 27A, and 27B of the Pakistan Telecommunication Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication had also clarified that the proposed Right of Way Bill 2026 would not allow the forcible acquisition of private land or unauthorised entry into citizens’ private properties. According to the ministry, the property owners would retain the full right to raise objections, negotiate terms, and demand appropriate compensation before any work is carried out on their land.
