Pakistan interview recording laws: PECA interception, the telecom offense and no data protection act yet

Pakistan has no federal data protection act in force as of November 2026, so recording a job interview is governed by a handful of criminal provisions rather than a privacy statute. Section 19 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA) punishes unauthorized interception committed with dishonest intention, and section 31 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 makes intercepting telecommunications an offense. Neither expressly addresses a participant recording their own call. The practical rule: record only interviews you take part in, tell the candidate, ask, and follow the stricter law on your own side of the call.

This page adds Pakistan to our country series alongside India, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It is for recruiters, agency consultants and hiring managers who interview candidates located in Pakistan by video or phone, including from the US, the UK and the Gulf, where many Pakistani candidates are recruited.

Pakistan's rules at a glance

Can you record a call you are part of in Pakistan?

We found no federal statute that answers the question directly, either way. Section 19 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, headed "Unauthorized interception," punishes "whoever with dishonest intention commits unauthorized interception by technical means of (a) any transmission that is not intended to be and is not open to the public, from or within an information system." Section 2 defines unauthorized interception as "any interception without authorization," and authorization as "authorization by law or by the person empowered to make such authorization under the law."

Two elements matter for an interview. First, the offense requires dishonest intention, which an interviewer keeping an accurate record of an assessment, openly, does not have. Second, it is aimed at intercepting a transmission, not at a person keeping a record of what was said to them. That still leaves room for argument, which is why the safest practice is to make the recording consensual: tell the candidate at the start, ask, and keep the answer.

What does the telecommunications law add?

Section 31(1)(g) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 makes it an offense for anyone who "intercepts, acquaints himself with the contents of any intelligence or unauthorisedly discloses to any person the contents of such intelligence." Section 31(2) sets imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to ten million rupees, or both, and section 31(5) says a court may take cognizance only "on a complaint in writing by an officer authorized by the Authority or the Board," meaning the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. The provision sits in a law about telecommunication systems and services, and it is drafted around interception and unauthorized disclosure. Two practical lessons follow: do not record calls you are not part of, and do not pass a recording to anyone the candidate was not told about.

Does Pakistan have a data protection law for candidates?

Not at the federal level. A search of Pakistan Code for "Personal Data Protection" returns no act, as of November 9, 2026, and there is no data protection authority that publishes guidance on recordings. Article 14(1) of the Constitution protects "the dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home," but it does not set notice, retention or access rules for employers.

That gap does not make interview recordings rule-free. Section 16 of PECA punishes anyone who "obtains, sells, possesses, transmits or uses another person's identity information without authorization," with up to three years, a fine of up to five million rupees, or both, where identity information is information that "may authenticate or identify an individual or an information system and enable access to any data or information system." Do not have candidates read out identity card numbers, account numbers or passwords on a recorded call; collect identity documents through your onboarding process instead.

Which law governs when you interview from abroad?

Usually your own, plus Pakistan's criminal law. Section 1 of PECA says it applies "to every citizen of Pakistan wherever he may be and also to every other person for the time being in Pakistan," and section 1(4) adds "any act committed outside Pakistan by any person if the act constitutes an offence under this Act and affects a person, property, information system or data located in Pakistan." On your side of the call:

• US recruiters follow federal law and their state's statute; several states require every party's consent. See two-party consent states and recording calls across state lines.
• EU and UK employers or agencies handle the recording under the GDPR or UK GDPR, including notice, lawful basis, retention and access; see recording interviews under UK GDPR.
• Gulf employers recruiting in Pakistan follow their own country's rules; see the UAE and Saudi Arabia pages.

What should you tell the candidate?

With no statutory notice list, use a short, complete one: that you would like to record or transcribe, why, who will see it (name the client if you are an agency), where it is stored, how long you keep it, and that the candidate can say no or ask you to stop without it affecting the application. Put the same lines in the interview invitation. Urdu is the national language and the Constitution allows English for official purposes (article 251); offer the notice in whichever the candidate prefers. If you interview over WhatsApp, see how to record a WhatsApp interview for the mechanics.

How long should you keep interview recordings?

No Pakistani statute sets a period, so set your own and stick to it. Keep audio only until notes and scores are final, keep transcripts only for the hiring decision and any dispute window, and delete rejected candidates' material on a schedule. If your company is subject to the GDPR or another data protection law, that law's retention and access rules apply to Pakistani candidates too. Our retention policy template gives the structure.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Nothing in Pakistani law we reviewed prohibits it, but the same cautions apply: no tool should join a call you are not part of, the candidate should know that software is transcribing, and a person, not a score, should make the hiring decision. Ask the vendor where audio and transcripts are stored, how long it keeps them and whether it trains models on them. Interview Signal, for example, captures audio on the interviewer's own computer with no bot joining the call, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not retain audio after transcription; your own notice and retention rules still apply to the transcript.

A consent line for interviews with candidates in Pakistan

شروع کرنے سے پہلے: میں آپ کے جوابات درست طور پر محفوظ کرنے کے لیے
[ہماری گفتگو ریکارڈ کرنا / سافٹ ویئر کے ذریعے گفتگو کی تحریری نقل
تیار کرنا] چاہتا/چاہتی ہوں۔ [ریکارڈنگ / تحریری نقل] صرف اسی بھرتی کے
عمل کے لیے استعمال ہوگی، صرف [کلائنٹ / ہائرنگ مینیجر] اسے دیکھ سکیں
گے، اور فیصلے کے [مدت] بعد اسے حذف کر دیا جائے گا۔ کیا آپ اس کی اجازت
دیتے ہیں؟ آپ انکار کر سکتے ہیں یا کسی بھی وقت ریکارڈنگ روکنے کا کہہ
سکتے ہیں، اور اس سے آپ کی درخواست پر کوئی اثر نہیں پڑے گا۔

(Before we start: I'd like to [record our conversation / make a written
transcript of it with software] so I keep your answers accurately. The
[recording / transcript] will be used only for this hiring process,
only [the client / the hiring manager] will see it, and it will be
deleted [period] after the decision. Do you agree? You can say no or
ask me to stop recording at any time, and it will not affect your
application.)

More wording is in the interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in Pakistan

• Only interviews you take part in are recorded; no hidden devices and no listening in on colleagues' calls.
• The candidate is told what is recorded, why, who sees it and for how long, and agrees before you start.
• Recordings are shared only with people the candidate was told about.
• No identity card numbers, account numbers or passwords read out on the recording.
• Your own jurisdiction's consent and data protection rules are applied in full.
• A written retention period, with audio deleted first and rejected candidates' files on a schedule.