The Minister in charge of the Cabinet Division told the National Assembly in a written reply that cellular mobile operators cannot share customer data with third parties.
Telecom operators must follow strict rules in their licenses and laws. These rules ban sharing customer details with outsiders, even their own branches or partners. Sections 7.7.1 and 7.7.2 in the Long Distance and International (LDI) and Local Loop Licenses allow sharing only in certain cases. These include collecting debts, providing services between operators, meeting legal duties, or getting the customer’s clear permission first. Even then, operators share just the least amount of data needed.
The Minister pointed to Regulation 16 in the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations of 2009. It requires operators to keep customer data private. Clause 10.1 in the Third Party Service Provider License also stresses protecting users. License holders must run a good system for handling complaints. They need to shield customers from scams, privacy leaks, and service holdups. No sharing of data happens without an exception or the customer’s full, clear okay after they learn the details, goal, and who gets it.
The reply made it plain: sharing data without these steps breaks license rules and consumer laws. The Ministry said operators must handle data with care. They need to follow all laws to guard privacy and stop abuse of personal facts.
To fight rising worries about fake calls and texts, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) started key steps. It sent out over 1.065 billion awareness messages to warn people about scam calls and SMS. Special ringback tones from the State Bank of Pakistan and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan now play on mobile networks. These tones teach users about fraud dangers.
PTA blocked hidden Universal Access Numbers (UANs) that crooks use to fake bank calls. This happened at international gateways. The authority also set up an online Complaint Management System (CMS). It has a special spot for reports on fake communications. This lets users flag odd activity and get quick help.
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