The Nationwide Meeting Senate Standing Committee on Info Know-how, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, convened on Wednesday to debate the licensing course of for satellite tv for pc web companies in Pakistan, with a selected deal with the operations of Starlink.
In the course of the session, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman offered an replace on Starlink’s software for registration, which was submitted on February 24, 2022.
He famous that the matter had been referred to the Ministry of Inside for safety clearance. The case is at present below evaluate by the newly established Pakistan Authority for House and Regulatory Our bodies (PASRB), which is able to make the ultimate determination concerning the license.
In the course of the assembly, Senator Palwasha Khan raised considerations over the actions of Starlink’s proprietor, Elon Musk, in gentle of his latest social media exercise. She criticised Musk for his alleged anti-Pakistan tirade, accusing him of aligning with India’s narrative towards Pakistan.
“It appears Elon Musk has partnered with India to propagate false allegations towards Pakistan,” she remarked.
In response, Senator Afnan Ullah Khan instructed that Starlink ought to solely be granted a license if Musk points a public apology for his remarks.
“The PTA should think about Musk’s marketing campaign towards Pakistan earlier than issuing a license. He ought to apologise for his statements earlier than any additional steps are taken,” he argued.
Earlier, IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja introduced that the satellite-based web firm, Starlink, had been formally registered in Pakistan. Elon Musk later responded on the social media platform X, confirming that the corporate was in negotiations with the federal government.
Musk joins anti-Pakistan tirade
Just lately, Musk has endorsed an anti-Pakistan narrative promoted by Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Rajya Sabha MP linked to the India’s Shiv Sena (UBT) social gathering.
Chaturvedi sparked controversy when she claimed that the blame for grooming gangs within the UK shouldn’t be positioned on Asia as an entire, however slightly on “one rogue nation”—Pakistan. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, publicly supported this assertion, calling it “true” on social media, aligning himself with Chaturvedi’s place.
The controversy round grooming gangs within the UK has intensified following remarks by Labour chief and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recalled overseeing the primary prosecution of an Asian grooming gang whereas heading the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2008 and 2013. Chaturvedi criticised Starmer’s narrative, questioning the tendency to affiliate the difficulty of grooming gangs with whole ethnic communities.
Musk additionally voiced his disapproval of Starmer, who has rejected requires a brand new nationwide inquiry, advocating as a substitute for the implementation of suggestions from an earlier seven-year inquiry into youngster sexual exploitation.