By Tasswar Abass ISLAMABAD, Aug 04 (APP):From mounting liabilities and recurring losses to financial stability, expanded telehealth services and investment in digital infrastructure, the transformation of COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) over the past few years presented a story of institutional turnaround driven by strategic planning, financial restructuring and focused leadership. Once facing serious financial challenges and uncertainty over the future of its more than 250 employees, CIS has gradually moved …
From financial crisis to recovery: Visionary leadership transforms COMSATS Internet Services
By Tasswar Abass
ISLAMABAD, Aug 04 (APP):From mounting liabilities and recurring losses to financial stability, expanded telehealth services and investment in digital infrastructure, the transformation of COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) over the past few years presented a story of institutional turnaround driven by strategic planning, financial restructuring and focused leadership.
Once facing serious financial challenges and uncertainty over the future of its more than 250 employees, CIS has gradually moved towards financial stability while expanding its technological and public-service initiatives.
Chief Operating Officer Nasir Jamal, recalled the difficult circumstances confronting the organization when Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria assumed charge as Executive Director COMSATS on November 1, 2022, he told APP.
“When Dr. Zakaria took charge, CIS was like a sinking ship, struggling to stay afloat amidst severe financial stress. His leadership brought structure, accountability and a clear vision that helped us navigate through the crisis,” he said.
General Manager of Accounts and Finance, CIS, Mahmud Akhtar said that the organization incurred a loss of Rs 166.51 million during the three years from July 2019 to June 2022, averaging more than Rs five million per month.
He said accumulated current liabilities had exceeded receivables and continued to increase, creating serious financial challenges for the organization.
After assuming charge, Dr. Zakaria undertook a detailed review of the financial situation and engaged stakeholders, including the top management of bandwidth service providers, in a series of negotiations over several months.
A practical repayment mechanism was subsequently developed to clear accumulated liabilities while meeting recurring monthly bandwidth charges. Negotiated reductions in bandwidth rates, improved revenue management and financial discipline helped ease the pressure on CIS and enabled the organization to settle liabilities running into hundreds of millions of rupees during Dr. Zakaria’s tenure.
Dr. Nadia Rasheed, Consultant and Project Manager, Telehealth said, a major area of recovery was the revival and expansion of the COMSATS TeleHealth programme, which had faced financial difficulties and was at risk of disruption.
CIS added 17 TeleHealth Clinics in Balochistan, taking the total number of fully functional clinics to 35. The centres are currently providing healthcare consultations to more than 600 patients daily, with doctors based in Islamabad using information and communication technologies to serve patients in remote areas, she added.
General Manager Administration and Human Resources CIS Abid Shah, while talking to APP, said around Rs15 million was invested in improving internet access for students, with more than 80 internet hubs established across COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) campuses and dormitories.
The initiative was aimed at facilitating students’ access to online educational and research resources and strengthening digital connectivity across the university.
The turnaround was not confined to financial management. CIS also moved to reduce its operational costs through renewable energy, he added.
Abid Shah said data centres were highly energy-intensive facilities and CIS had previously been incurring an average monthly electricity bill of around Rs 3.5 million.
Under the initiative, a 167-KVA solar power system was installed at COMSATS, which reduced the monthly electricity bill by around Rs1.2 million to Rs1.5 million, generating estimated annual savings of approximately Rs15 million.
CIS provides bandwidth to CUI campuses at a monthly capacity of 2,360 Mbps. Following the expiry of the previous contract, CUI invited fresh quotations for future bandwidth services and, according to the employees’ account, subsequently awarded the contract for the provision of 2,360 Mbps bandwidth to COMSATS.
Dr. Zakaria’s initiative of establishing ISO-9001 certified NanoTech Lab is milestone given the ED’s noble thought behind it. Primary purpose is to create lab facility for hands on research facility to the PhD student to help in their thesis and research paper.
With a renewed focus on financial sustainability, CIS is now positioned to continue its expansion, particularly in its Tele-health services, and to play a critical role in Pakistan’s digital and public health sectors.
Beyond the numbers and statistics, CIS’s transformation represents a profound shift in how organizations can overcome adversity and emerge stronger.
