The IT and Telecom Minis­ter Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Thursday reaffirmed the government’s plans to launch 5G internet services in Pakistan. The plans had been in the pipeline for a while, but had run into some financial and infrastructural hurdles. Speaking at a recent ceremony commemorating a landmark 200m mobile users, including 150m broadband users and over 2m fibre-to-home subscribers, Khawaja announced that work on the 5G project was ongoing.

The event, which was organised by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to mark Pakistan’s accelerating digital growth, was attended by senior members from Ufone, Jazz, Telenor, Zong, and SCO. As a celebration for this achievement, a mobile data and call minutes package offer was announced, which allows all mobile users to receive 2GB of free data and 200 on-net minutes, valid for 24 hours on Friday (June 20). Subscribers can activate the offer by dialing *2200#.

At the event, PTA officials also announced that Pakistan’s mobile internet gender gap was closing, with women now making up 38pc of mobile internet users, an increase from 25pc last year.

Meta has announced that advertisements will soon appear on WhatsApp, specifically within the “Updates” tab which includes the Status and Channel sections opposing the original founders vision that kept it as an ad-free experience since 2014.

The company did clarify that said ads will not be shown in private chats, calls or groups preserving WhatsApp’s core end-to-end encrypted features, however, the ads will be limited to the non-intrusive updates feed apparently allowing businesses to engage with users directly through paid channel subscriptions. 

This move has sparked numerous concerns among the masses who envision this as a departure from WhatsApp’s original privacy focused, ad-free model. While Meta does claim user privacy will remain a priority, their aim of keeping personal communications private while expanding its advertising model remains to raise eyebrows till its public release.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has clarified that one time sellers and women operating home based businesses are exempt from mandatory online business registration.

FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial during a Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue meeting assured this while discussing the federal budget. He emphasised that these sellers would not be required to register, addressing concerns about the impact on small and occasional online vendors. 

However the committee had approved a proposal to impose sales tax on e-commerce items. Under Section 37A of Sales Tax Act, 1990 the committee discussed the scope of tax powers, reviewing penalties for unregistered entities. Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiyani said the amendment was “a step towards protecting procedural integrity and reducing arbitrary arrests”.

Thus proposing revisions to be required for commissioner approved arrests. The committee will continue deliberations on the Finance Bill 2024-26.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has intensified its crackdown on the illegal tampering of IMEI numbers and on the scale of which cloned mobile devices were being sold. 

In collaboration with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), successful raids were conducted, apprehending a total of 45 mobile phones from various locations.

Raids were conducted in areas such as Gulzar-e-Madinah road in Lahore and Google Valley Mobile Plaza in Gujranwala where brands such as Google Pixel, OnePlus, Samsung S23 Ulta and other phones were involved in being tampered with and sold at a very low price. The shopkeepers involved in said operations had FIRs registered against them while being arrested.

PTA emphasizes its maintenance in its zero-tolerance policy against illegal modifications of mobile device identifiers thus avoiding facilitating any kind of cybercrime or financial fraud providing public safety through national security.

The Punjab Government has introduced the Punjab Public Awareness and Dissemination of information Bill 2025 to regulate official publicity campaigns.

This said information was presented by Minister Azma Bokhari on June 13, where the bill seeks to provide a legal framework for government-led campaigns, retroactively validating all promotional activities conducted since January 1, 2024. “It is a simple bill to empower the government to plan and execute awareness among the public about government initiatives and programmes.” The government under this legislation, can therefore name or rename projects, hire advertising agencies and engage through celebrity outreach promotions. 

To approve such campaigns while also addressing public complaints, the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) will be responsible with appeals directed to the Secretary of the Information Department. 

The bill also restricts courts from exercising jurisdiction over these matters and grants immunity to any official acting in good faith. The Information Minister reported that in case of any dissatisfaction, the complaint can be reported for an appeal if approached by the Information Secretary.