Pakistan Govt Grants Starlink Temporary Permission to Operate

Starlink, the satellite internet network owned by the controversial billionaire Elon Musk, has been issued a temporary No Objection Certificate (NOC)* to operate in Pakistan, according to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT). IT Minister Shaza Fatima was quoted in a statement by the Ministry as saying that “Starlink has been issued a temporary NOC with the consensus of all security and regulatory agencies”. The IT Minister said that the MoITT had, according to Dawn News, “consulted with the Cybercrime Agency, security agencies, PTA and Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board, as part of a “Whole of government” approach.

*NOCs are legal certificates “issued by any agency, organization, and institute or, in certain cases, an individual”. In the context of Starlink, being granted an NOC allows foreign entities or individuals – such as foreign journalists or companies – to operate in Pakistan, after receiving approval from relevant agencies and government departments.