IT Sector Flourishes in Pakistan

Leghari told IOL his government spent billion of dollars to groom IT experts.

"The IT sector in Pakistan is growing at a rate far faster then ever before, at a phenomenal 56% year-on-year," Ashraf Kapadia, President of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), an association of IT and IT-enabled service providers in Pakistan, told IslamOnline.net.

"This indicates a robust growth and is extremely encouraging for Pakistan’s readiness for the networked world."

The sector features some 1010 IT companies, including 60 foreign-based operating in Pakistan, of which more than 125 are ISO-certified.

The industry employs over 90,000 professionals, said Kapadia, adding that many Pakistani companies have developed and are exporting world-class products.

According to figures by the State Bank of Pakistan, the IT industry is estimated at $2 billion a year with almost $1 billion in exports.

Approximately 20,000 students graduate every year from some 110 universities offering different IT/computer science programs, show figures compiled by the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB).

Infrastructure

"The most fundamental measure of IT readiness is the telecom infrastructure and the reach of network services," Kapadia said.

"The bandwidth consumption in Pakistan has increased from 800 mega bites in 2003 to 2,500 MB today," he added.

Presently, over 1900 cities and towns are connected to the Internet.

A total of 132 licenses have so far been awarded to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), of which 70 are operational throughout the South Asian Muslim state.

In 2004, the number of Internet subscribers in Pakistan was merely 2 million.

The figure has since increased by a five-fold to nearly 10 million, according to a report issued by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the internet and TV channel license issuing authority.

Almost 60 percent of the total Internet users come from urban areas.

Most private schools are well equipped with IT facilities and the government has also provided computer labs to 1,100 government schools.

The use of IT in the public sector has grown significantly with the government making many of the basic public services available online.

"Citizen services like online income tax filings, computerized national identity card service and electronic gateway to Pakistan Customs have made a remarkable difference and passed the benefit of IT-enabled services to all segments of society," Manzoor Memon, a PEMRA spokesman, told IOL.

The rate of personal computer ownership has jumped by 35 percent over the past ten years.

Currently, around one million Pakistani have their own computers.

Pakistan roughly has 450,000 new computers every year and PEMRA predicts that the number will increase 4-5 times within the next three years.

New IT Hub   

"Pakistan is the hot new offshore information technology destination," Rana told IOL.

Aon Ashraf Rana, PSEB International Marketing Director, believes that Pakistan is making better progress than IT giant India, a traditional rival.

"No doubt, the IT growth rate in Pakistan is almost equal to India, however there is a huge difference between the industry size," he told IOL.

He insisted that there are several elements to be taken into consideration between comparing the IT industry in the neighboring rivals.

"India is 4 times bigger in size and 7 times bigger in population than Pakistan," noted Rana.

"It is a huge IT market, which attracts the international companies.

"We have to keep all these facts in mind while comparing our IT industry with Indian industry."

Rana believes that Pakistan has the potential to become a new IT hub after India announced an income tax of more than 36 percent on foreign firms involved in software, R&D and customer service operations last September.

"Pakistan is the hot new offshore information technology destination because of this development."

Rana said that for Westerners with long-standing personal ties to India, the tax scheme could have both personal and financial consequences.

"Pakistan appears to be the primary beneficiary of India’s decision to tax foreign firms with captive IT operations in India.

"No other economy can match Pakistan’s labor pool of educated English-speaking workers and low-cost environment."

Pakistan has given tax exemption on income from export of computer software and related services until 2016.

New Partners  

Federal IT and Telecommunications Minister Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari says his government has spent billion of dollars in the IT sector to produce IT experts, urging world countries to make use of the Pakistani manpower in this sector.

"We are giving special importance to improve our IT relations with China," he told IOL.

"It is a great opportunity to further expand relations and invest in IT sector in Pakistan."

A 12-member delegation led by Chinese Vice Minister of Information Industry Lou Qinjian has recently visited Islamabad to discuss IT cooperation between the two
neighbors.

"China wants to develop relations in IT sector with Pakistan and our cooperation in the IT field would further grow to counter India’s influence in this sector," the Chinese official told reporters.

Rana says that thousands of young Pakistanis are getting overseas work offers through Internet.

"They contact the foreign IT companies and organizations, offer them their services and get work from them," he added.

"The low-cost work environment in Pakistan often helps them attract the foreign software companies."