Pakistani MPs demand Elon Musk’s apology before issuing licence to Starlink

Pakistani lawmakers have called on Elon Musk, head of US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and owner of Starlink, to apologize for his anti-Pakistan trade on social media, reported 24NewsDH TV channel.

The demand was echoed in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, held in Islamabad on Wednesday to deliberate upon the licensing process for satellite internet services in the country with a particular focus on the Starlink operations.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman, during the meeting, updated the participants on Starlink’s registration application submitted on February 24, 2022.

The PTA chief informed that the matter had been referred to the Interior Ministry for security clearance and the matter was currently under review of the newly-established Pakistan Authority for Space and Regulatory Bodies (PASRB), which will make the final call regarding the issuance of the licence to the Starlink.

Senator Palwasha Khan raised concerns over Elon Musk’s actions keeping in view his recent posts regarding Pakistan on social media. Palwasha Khan denounced the Starlink owner for his alleged anti-Pakistan tirade, accusing him of aligning with India's narrative against Pakistan. "It looks like Elon Musk has sided with India to propagate false allegations against Pakistan," she maintained.

In response, Senator Afnan Ullah Khan proposed that the Starlink should only be granted a licence if Elon Musk issues a public apology for his remarks. "The PTA must consider Musk’s campaign against Pakistan before issuing a licence. The Starlink owner should apologize for his statements before any further steps are taken," he stressed.

Palwasha said a licence to Starlink should not be issued until the government’s clearance.

The IT Ministry officials present in the meeting informed the legislators that the Starlink company has said that it would abide by the orders of the Pakistani government in letter and spirit, if allowed to do business here.

“The company will switch off the service whenever the government will direct it. It will not bypass the system,” the meeting was further informed.

The committee chairman also summoned PASRB officials for a briefing on the Starlink issue in the next meeting.

Recently, Elon Musk has endorsed an anti-Pakistan narrative promoted by Indian lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha and belonged to India's Shiv Sena party.

Chaturvedi sparked controversy when she claimed that the blame for grooming gangs in the UK should not be placed on Asia as a whole, but rather on "one rogue nation"—Pakistan. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, publicly supported this statement, calling it "true" on social media.

The debate around grooming gangs in the UK has intensified following remarks by Labour leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recalled overseeing the first prosecution of an Asian grooming gang while heading the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2008 and 2013. Chaturvedi criticised Starmer’s narrative, questioning the tendency to associate the issue of grooming gangs with entire ethnic communities.

Musk also voiced his disapproval of Starmer, who has rejected calls for a new national inquiry, advocating instead for the implementation of recommendations from an earlier seven-year inquiry into child sexual exploitation.

Reporter Waqas Azeem