Personal Data Protection Bill Sent Again to Cabinet for Approval

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has again referred the Personal Data Protection Bill to the Federal Cabinet for approval. Sources in the ministry informed that the ministry first sent the bill to the Law Division, and following their approval, it has been sent to the Cabinet. This is the second time the bill has been sent to the Cabinet. The previous Cabinet had approved the bill in principle in February. Sources said that the Cabinet had approved the Personal Data Protection Bill and the Cloud First Policy on 15 February, but the bill needed some corrections, which is why it was sent to the Law Division to be reviewed. When contacted, MoITT officials said that the previous Cabinet had approved the bill in principle, but the Minister for IT and Telecom, Syed Amin Ul Haque, has directed for the bill to be returned to the Cabinet after the latter was changed. He wants the bill to be introduced in the parliament after the new Cabinet approves it. The Personal Data Protection Bill has been pending for the last four years. The MoITT had prepared the first draft of the bill in 2018, and a new draft was introduced in 2020 with some changes. Later on, this draft was changed to the ‘Personal Data Protection Bill Consultation Draft 2021’.