Why Pakistan Is Stalling On Data Protection: A Nation's Digital Dilema

Introduction — the unfulfilled promise of data protection

Despite rapid digitization in Pakistan and frequent data breaches (including leaks of sensitive personal information), the country still lacks an enacted, comprehensive data-protection law. Over the past several years, successive versions of the proposed Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 and earlier drafts (as far back as 2005) have been prepared — but none has successfully become law.

Observers, activists, and some lawmakers have repeatedly asked: Why the delay, if citizens' privacy and rights are at stake? The answer lies in a tangle of political, economic, institutional and geopolitical considerations.

Driving forces behind reluctance