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 recognize, 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.

Pakistan has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Pakistan to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

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

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

Pakistan lacks a comprehensive regime for the protection of trade secrets.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Pakistan. It is reported that numerous cable operators provide pirated content and litigants with experience in these tribunals raise concerns over the lack of capacity, inconsistency of rulings, nominal fines, and a general lack of expertise among tribunal judges. Moreover, it is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 83% in 2017 (above the 57% rate of the Asian Pacific countries), for an estimated commercial value of USD 267 million.

Pakistan has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Pakistan has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Pakistan is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Copyright Ordinance 1962 provides a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follow the fair dealing model and enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Section 57 lists the exceptions, which include research or private study; criticism or review, the reading or recitation in public of any reasonable extract from a published literary or dramatic work; among others.

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, but 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 past 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.
The PTA may if it considers that there are any factors in relation to that application that threaten or potentially threaten national security, reject an application.

Pursuant to Art. 5 of the Class of 2007 Value Added Services Licensing and Registration Regulations, application for the grant of a Registered Services license for the provision of value-added services shall be made in the manner set forth in Schedule "A" of the Regulations. According to Art. 2, value-added services means all telecommunication services excluding the core telecommunications services of access providers as determined by the Authority from time to time.
Pursuant the Art. 6, the authority may grant a license or Registration Certificate to any applicant, who fulfills the open, transparent, and non-discriminatory eligibility criteria given by the Authority from time to time. The Authority, for providing a license, shall take into account the following factors (i) the financial and economic viability of the applicant; (ii) the applicant's experience in telecommunications and relevant past history; (iii) technical competence and experience of applicant's management and key members of staff and local participation in the business; and (iv) the nature of the services proposed and the viability of the applicant's business plan including its contribution to the development of the telecommunications sector. However, the Authority may reject an application if it appears that the grant of the License or Registration Certificate shall threaten or potentially threaten national security.

There are no ownership restrictions on sectors relevant for digital trade. However, it is reported that Pakistan prohibits foreign ownership in all sectors for citizens/companies from India and Israel.