Overview
- Punjab’s Home Department issued an official notification on Wednesday, Oct. 21 that invokes Section 144 to bar possession, sale and online trade of covert recording devices for 30 days.
- The ban names devices such as smart glasses with hidden cameras, camera pens, keychain cameras and other micro‑cameras that can secretly record or transmit photos, video or audio.
- Laptops, tablets, mobile phones and other terminal devices approved by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority are explicitly exempted from the order.
- The notification does not set out detailed enforcement steps or penalties, which raises practical challenges for policing shops and digital marketplaces and for distinguishing dual‑use items.
- Officials framed the move as a privacy and safety measure to protect vulnerable groups and sensitive sites, and advocates say the order may need stronger online‑sales controls, forensics and victim support to curb blackmail and child exploitation.