According to the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

It is reported that Pakistan prohibits data transfers to any country that it does not recognise, including Israel, Taiwan, Somaliland, Nagorno, Karabakh, Transnistria, Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Ossetia and Armenia. This list may change from time to time. Additionally, data transfers to India must be justifiable by the transferor.

Under Sections 16 and 26 of the Guidelines on Outsourcing Arrangements, for outsourcing any services from an entity outside the country, it is mandatory for the banks in Pakistan to obtain the State Bank of Pakistan's prior approval. The request for such approval includes disclosures relating to data that may be transferred offshore.

Art. 4 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act prohibits the transfer of data without the authorisation of the data owner.

Pakistan has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

Pakistan does not have a comprehensive regime in place for all personal data, but it has sectoral regulations. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 contains some provisions on data protection. It prevents unauthorised acts with respect to information systems and provides for related offences as well as mechanisms for their investigation, prosecution and trial. Under the Act, unauthorised access, copying, or interference with information systems or data is a punishable offence and shall be punished with imprisonment or a fine. In addition, there is some sectoral regulation on data in the banking and telecom sectors.

Section 31 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act includes data retention provisions that make it mandatory for service providers to hold traffic data for a one-year minimum or as “authorised officers” see fit. Art. 32 states that a service provider shall, within its existing or required technical capability, retain the specified traffic data for a minimum period of one year or such period as the Authority may notify from time to time and, subject to the production of a warrant issued by the Court, provide that data to the investigation agency or the authorised officer whenever so required.

Section 31 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act discusses “expedited preservation and acquisition of data”. It allows an authorised agent to require a person to hand over data without producing a court warrant if it is believed that it is “reasonably required” for a criminal investigation. This can be termed as a blanket authorisation provision that gives the executive direct authority to take action without any judicial oversight or scrutiny. In addition to this, no test as to what amounts to a reasonable requirement is provided in the section. This is problematic because the lack of requisite checks and balances affords the executive a discretionary power that can be used to violate fundamental rights.
Section 35 provides law enforcement officers various powers relating to information systems. One of these is a power to require any person who is in possession of “decryption information of an information system, device or data under investigation” to grant the officer access to such data, device or information system “in unencrypted or decrypted intelligible format” for the purposes of investigating the offence.
Section 39 allows for "Real-time collection and recording" of data: "[i]f a Court is satisfied on the basis of information furnished by an authorised officer that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the content of any information is reasonably required for the purposes of a specific criminal investigation, the Court may order, with respect to information held by or passing through a service provider, to a designated agency as notified under the Investigation for Fair Trial Act 2013 or any other law for the time being in force having capability to collect real-time information, to collect or record such information in real-time coordination with the investigation agency for provision in the prescribed manner."

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 38 of the PECA, there is a civil or criminal liability limitation for service providers for content posted by users unless it is proven that the service provider had “specific actual knowledge and willful intent to proactively and positively participate” in cybercrimes committed the Act. However, it is reported that the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2020 passed in November 2020 create new obligations and liabilities for social media companies, which can be in contradiction of limitation of intermediary liability provisions for technology companies in PECA.

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 38 of the PECA, there is a civil or criminal liability limitation for service providers for content posted by users unless it is proven that the service provider had “specific actual knowledge and willful intent to proactively and positively participate” in cybercrimes committed to the Act. However, it is reported that the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2020 passed in November 2020 create new obligations and liabilities for social media companies, which can be in contradiction of limitation of intermediary liability provisions for technology companies in PECA.

It is reported that Pakistan imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card or a passport in case of foreigners to activate a new prepaid SIM card. In addition, SIM cards cannot be activated without biometric identification

The incumbent operator, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), is a state-owned enterprise with a majority of shares.

Pakistan mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Rules, no person shall establish, maintain or operate any telecommunications system or provide any telecommunications service unless a licence for the same has been granted to it by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Pursuant to Art. 3.1, the license to provide basic telephone service cannot be granted. Still, applications may be made for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of any telecommunication system or the provision of any telecommunication service other than basic telephone service. According to Art. 4.3, in determining whether or not to grant a license, the Authority shall take into account the following factors:
- the financial and economic viability of the applicant;
- the applicant's experience in telecommunications and relevant history;
- the technical competence and experience of the applicant's management and key members of staff and local participation in the business;
- the nature of the services proposed and the viability of the applicant's business plan, including the applicant's proposed roll-out and service quality commitments and its contribution to the development of the telecommunications sector;
- the quality of the applicant's telecommunications system or network; and
- the terms of the bid made by the applicant where the license is to be issued under a competitive process.
If the PTA considers that there are any factors in relation to that application that threaten or potentially threaten national security, it may reject an application.

Pakistan is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).