ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, on Friday credited the achievement of $4.6 billion in IT exports to a unified national strategy led by the government and supported by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and allied institutions.
Speaking to the media, the minister said, “This success is the result of close coordination between the civilian and military leadership, along with contributions from PTA, Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, USF, Ignite, and PSEB, all working together to support the IT sector.”
Reflecting on Pakistan’s economic turnaround, she recalled the uncertainty of 2022 when fears of default loomed. “Under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership, we stabilised the economy and put it on a sustainable growth path,” she said, noting improvements in business sentiment, alongside a drop in the policy rate from 23% to 11% and declining inflation.
The minister highlighted the government’s focus on developing human capital, with over 350,000 youth trained through joint programs with PSEB, Ignite, NAVTTC, HEC, and global tech leaders like Google, Huawei, and Microsoft. “Our goal is productive employment — turning every IT graduate into a job holder or entrepreneur,” she said, announcing the relaunch of the DigiSkills program to expand digital training nationwide.
Detailing infrastructure progress, Shaza Fatima said the IT Ministry has launched 43 new co-working spaces and 23 Special Technology Zones in the last year, taking the total number of tech parks to 44. These facilities now house over 18,000 professionals engaged in freelancing, remote work, and tech startups.
She also announced government-backed incentives to expand these spaces into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities through interest-free loans. “We’ve already seen a major investor enter the co-working space sector,” she added.
On international outreach, she said the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), in collaboration with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), participated in over 20 global tech expos, boosting the visibility of Pakistani startups. “Every dollar spent returned $50 in business commitments,” she added, citing branding campaigns in Toronto, Dublin, London, Riyadh, and Dubai under banners like Think Tech and Think Pakistan.
She emphasised Pakistan’s active diplomacy in easing IT business visas and international registration for companies. “Wherever our leadership goes, they advocate for Pakistan’s IT industry,” she affirmed, pointing to recent examples like Menzies Aviation and Etihad Airways relocating backend operations to Pakistan.
A major achievement, she noted, was the successful hosting of Pakistan’s first-ever Digital Foreign Direct Investment Forum, which attracted delegates from over 40 countries and secured investment commitments worth $700 million.
Quoting the latest AT Kearney report, the minister said Pakistan ranks among the top offshoring destinations due to its cost-effectiveness and skilled workforce. “We’re rapidly emerging as a regional digital and data hub,” she stated.
Highlighting growth in connectivity, she said Pakistan now has over 200 million mobile subscribers, with 150 million active mobile broadband users. Data usage jumped by 24% in the last year and is expected to grow further, signalling deepening digital penetration.
She said the Universal Service Fund (USF) connected over 550 villages to the internet in the past year and aims to double that number in the current fiscal year. “We’re bridging the digital divide in areas the market doesn’t serve,” she added.
Shaza Fatima also announced that the regulatory groundwork for licensing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet providers is nearly complete. “Licenses will be issued this year,” she confirmed.
In terms of global connectivity, the minister said two of the world’s largest submarine cables — 2Africa and Africa-1 — landed in Pakistan this year, with a third expected soon. These cables will increase internet bandwidth and lower latency. Pakistan also began routing Chinese data through Karachi under what she termed “CPEC 2.0,” aimed at expanding connectivity to Central Asia and making Pakistan a central data corridor.
Speaking about the government’s $25 billion digital vision, she explained that $15 billion is targeted through IT exports and $10 billion through national digitisation. “We’re well on track to achieve this goal,” she asserted.
One of the key pillars, she said, is the Digital Pakistan Act, which paves the way for the Pakistan Digital Authority. A national master plan for data interoperability and the Pakistan Stack is also being finalised to drive transformation in key sectors like health, education, agriculture, and finance.
Pakistan’s digital payment system, Raast, developed by the State Bank of Pakistan, is now fully operational. Efforts are underway to integrate it with government data platforms to digitise public payments. “We’ve already digitised G2G transactions, and departments like FBR, AGPR, and CGA are moving toward full digitisation,” she said.
The minister also emphasised the government’s commitment to digital inclusion, citing a significant drop in the gender gap in mobile internet usage from 38% to 25%, as per the GSMA Gender Report. “Our target is complete parity. National development is not possible without empowering women equally,” she added.
Shaza Fatima further shared that Pakistan has moved up 14 positions in the UN’s E-Government Development Index. “All 40 federal ministries now use e-office systems. Paper use is almost eliminated except in highly confidential files,” she said, noting that over 50% of attached departments have also adopted digitised operations.