ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Monday the government had no intention to pass legislation “unilaterally” to set up a new digital media authority, reassuring journalists that all stakeholders would be consulted in the process.

The government initiated consultations this month over a new draft law aimed at regulating social media platforms, including by setting up a new digital rights protection body, prompting concerns from rights activists that the council would be used to stifle criticism and freedom of speech.

The popular social media platform X has been blocked in Pakistan for over three months after widespread allegations of election manipulation and calls for protests in the wake of Feb. 8 general polls.

Earlier this month, the government launched a new National Cybercrimes Investigation Agency to probe electronic crimes and confirmed that it was working on a draft law to regulate social media content.

“The government has no intention of unilateral legislation regarding the establishment of Digital Media Authority,” state-run Radio Pakistan said in report quoting Tarar after he met a delegation from the National Press Club Islamabad.

“He said all journalist organizations and press clubs will be taken into confidence on the matter.”

Last week, ruling party Senator Afnan Ullah Khan told Arab News the government was working on a draft law to regulate social media content “as we want to curb disinformation and hate speech being spread through these platforms.”

“A committee led by the federal law minister is discussing the draft law as we have to ensure people’s right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression as well,” he added, ruling out concerns the government wanted to muffle its rivals and critics.

Khan said the draft law would be tabled in parliament for debate within four weeks.

“Opposition parties or any parliamentarian can object to any clause of the bill once it is presented in parliament for vote,” he said.

“We want to protect digital rights of our users instead of imposing any restrictions, but at the same time we want those to be prosecuted who violate the law by inciting hate speech and pedaling disinformation, or any content against the national security,” he added.

The draft law may propose the establishment of a digital rights protection authority to ensure effective enforcement of laws, Khan said but “all this will be disclosed to the media and public once the bill is tabled in parliament for discussion.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Türkiye on Monday set the goal of enhancing bilateral trade volume to $5 billion, vowing to hold a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) meeting in Islamabad in the “very near future.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in Islamabad on Sunday on a two-day official visit amid Pakistan’s efforts to boost foreign investments and better manage its $350 billion economy. 

The South Asian nation has seen a flurry of foreign visits in recent weeks, including by the Iranian president, Saudi foreign minister, a delegation of top Saudi companies as well as officials from Qatar, China, Japan and Central Asian countries, among others. 

On Monday, Pakistan and Turkiye engaged in delegation-level talks focusing on trade, investment, connectivity and defense ties, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar representing Pakistan and Foreign Minister Fidan leading the Turkish delegation.

“We are taking measures to increase our trade to reach $5 billion and planning to hold the next session of the bilateral trade talks in the coming days,” Dar said at a joint media stakeout, without specifying a time period in which the new trade target would be achieved.

“We are planning to hold an HLSCC meeting in Islamabad in the very near future which would carry out a comprehensive review of our ongoing cooperation, including a holistic review of our bilateral, strategic, and economic framework.

“With each passing day, trade, investment and defense relations, as well as people-to-people contacts constitute the basis of our ongoing bilateral cooperation.”

Speaking at the press conference, Fidan said Pakistan held “major strategic and economic importance” due to its location bordering China and the Arabian Sea, positioning it at a junction of energy-rich countries and major economies.

He endorsed Dar’s statement that current bilateral trade volume of $1 billion did not reflect potential and should be enhanced to $5 billion:

“We have taken a principal decision in order to broaden our relations not only in trade but also in defense ... Pakistan is our strategic partner, and our cooperation supports regional stability and safety as well. I would like to once again highlight that we stand with Pakistan in their combat against terrorism.”

Dar also highlighted the history of Pak-Türkiye collaboration on defense projects.

“Pakistan and Turkiye are working on various joint ventures and continue to support each other to defend our territorial sovereignty and fight against terrorism in all its manifestations,” the Pakistani official added. “Our two countries have always supported each other on core issues and have assisted each other in the fight against terrorism.”

Pakistan narrowly averted default last summer, and its economy has stabilized after the completion of the last IMF program, with inflation coming down to around 17 percent in April from a record high 38 percent last May.

It is still dealing with a high fiscal shortfall and while it has controlled its external account deficit through import control mechanisms, it has come at the expense of stagnating growth, which is expected to be around 2 percent this year compared to negative growth last year.

The South Asian is also in negotiations with the IMF for a new, longer-term program of at least $6 billion.