In accordance with figures from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), by the last day of November 2024, there were (193,238,238) million cellular users in Pakistan, with a mobile teledensity of (79.10%).

Additionally, the report showed that the number of mobile broadband customers has increased to (139) million, resulting in a (56.90%) mobile penetration rate.

Furthermore, there were (143) million broadband customers, representing a broadband penetration rate of (58.39%), compared to (3) million fixed telephone subscribers, representing a fixed teledensity of (1.10%).

It is significant to note that Parliamentary Secretary Sajid Mehdi informed the National Assembly (NA) that up to (86,000) SIMs had been disabled for anti-state actions.

He was reacting to Asiya Naz Tanoli’s appeal to attention in the National Assembly about the increase of false information on social media.

Parliamentary Secretary Sajid Mehdi said that (86,000) SIMs were disabled due to anti-state activity, and that the government had shut the social media site X (previously Twitter) in an effort to combat disinformation.

In order to improve rules against false news, he informed the NA house that changes to the Electronic Crimes Act are anticipated shortly. Additionally, Mr. Mehdi verified that VPN use has been limited in order to decrease the spread of false information.