The Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 has been disapproved by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) that Senator Afnan Ullah has submitted as Private Member’s Bill.
In its reply, in written form, the Ministry categorically opposed the bill in the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom on the grounds that it violates the legislative policy, deviates from the constitutional framework, and fails to meet the requirements in terms of procedure and consultation.
The Ministerial response stated that the Private Member’s Bill does not comply with the Rules of Business 1973 concerning the distinction made in relation to Private Member’s Bills and Government Bills under Rules 27 and 28, respectively. The PMB lacks the mandatory consultations with the Finance and Law Divisions under Rule 28; hence it is procedurally defective, and its presentation in Parliament stands disqualified.
The reply also pointed to a violation of Article 74 of the Constitution, which mandates that any bill involving federal expenditure or withdrawals from the Federal Consolidated Fund can be introduced only at the behest of the Federal Government. Spending on the implementation of the PMB would be such an expenditure, therefore making it unconstitutional.
The Ministry also pointed out that the formulation of the PMB has not involved wide consultation with key public and private stakeholders, in sharp contrast to its own draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill. The Ministry’s draft has been developed following extensive consultations with over 100 stakeholders and in harmony with international standards such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and has also received in-principle approval from the Federal Cabinet.
