KARACHI: Pakistan is planning to launch 5G Internet services within a year to facilitate the country’s growing e-commerce industry that is expected to create 780,000 new employment opportunities through online sales, a top government official and experts told Arab News on Wednesday.
“The country’s first trial of 5G was successful and it will carry out the next one in June,” Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque informed. “We will launch 5G mobile Internet services in Pakistan within a year
While no official figures have been compiled by the government, e-commerce has witnessed an upward trajectory in the country due to the growing number of broadband and mobile phone subscribers.
“We have taken an initiative with the help of PTCL and other telecommunication companies to reduce the cost of broadband services,” he added. “When the Internet cost will go down, people living in the remote areas of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will benefit and we will see improved connectivity in the country.”
The federal minister said the government was trying to introduce high-speed Internet facility to the remote areas of the country to bridge the digital gap between Pakistan’s rural and urban centers to enhance employment opportunities.
Chinese experts also claim that by emulating the online business model of China, Pakistan can create more than a million jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“If Pakistan pursues the development of logistical and instant delivery services and reaches China’s level, it will create 780,000 employment opportunities for Pakistanis according to the proportion of its population. The number may grow to 1.56 million in the future,” Cheng Xizhong, visiting professor at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, said on Tuesday in an article published in China Economic Net
In Pakistan, Xizhong added, e-commerce was developing rapidly, though he also pointed out that mobile communication and logistics could be a little behind in rural areas where some people still did not have cellphones.
However, the federal minister said the government was taking every possible measure to increase the mobile phone penetration and accessibility in remote areas, adding that it was in the process of introducing 3G and 4G services in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
“We are in talks with the Federal Board of Revenue to reduce taxes so that consumers may benefit from these services,” Haque said.
Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) agree with Xizhong that online sales platforms provide new opportunities amid the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, many Pakistanis are likely to lose their jobs both in and outside the country due to the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic, but the situation has also created opportunities for 6 million SMEs that can resort to online trade activities,” Zulfikar Thaver, president of the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises, told Arab News. “We have sought government’s intervention to facilitate the SMEs in this regard.”
Recently, the provincial administration in Sindh allowed small businesses to run online trades, though their volume was not significant.
“People were more interested in offline shopping because they wanted to draw maximum satisfaction by physically visiting shops and selecting goods. The online shopping hardly constituted about five percent of the total sales,” Atiq Mir, chairman of Karachi Tajir Itehad, said.
However, Pakistani retailers anticipate a major shift in the focus of their business toward online trading and expect rapid growth in that area.
“There can be a rapid surge in online sales in Pakistan. This will also create opportunities for various service providers,” Rana Tariq Mehboob, who manages Chainstore Association of Pakistan, told Arab News.
However, he added that an upward trajectory in e-commerce also depended on the overall performance of the economy. “I don’t think that online trade will increase if the economy is shrinking,” he said.
Pakistan is also going to set up two IT Parks in Islamabad and Karachi.
“These parks will attract multinational IT companies to the country and create a large number of jobs in both cities,” said the federal minister for information technology.
Pakistan to launch 5G services to support growing e-commerce – IT minister
https://arab.news/vksr4
Pakistan to launch 5G services to support growing e-commerce – IT minister
- The country can create 780,000 new employment opportunities through online sales, says a Chinese professor
- Pakistani retailers are anticipated to embrace online trading in the coming days
Islamabad says surge in aircraft orders after India standoff could end IMF reliance
- Pakistani jets came into the limelight after Islamabad claimed to have shot down six Indian aircraft during a standoff in May last year
- Many countries have since stepped up engagement with Pakistan, while others have proposed learning from PAF’s multi-domain capabilities
ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said Pakistan has witnessed a surge in aircraft orders after a four-day military standoff with India last year and, if materialized, they could end the country’s reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The statement came hours after a high-level Bangladeshi defense delegation met Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu to discuss a potential sale of JF-17 Thunder aircraft, a multi-role fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan that has become the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) over the past decade.
Fighter jets used by Pakistan came into the limelight after Islamabad claimed to have shot down six Indian aircraft, including French-made Rafale jets, during the military conflict with India in May last year. India acknowledged losses in the aerial combat but did not specify a number.
Many countries have since stepped up defense engagement with Pakistan, while delegations from multiple other nations have proposed learning from Pakistan Air Force’s multi-domain air warfare capabilities that successfully advanced Chinese military technology performs against Western hardware.
“Right now, the number of orders we are receiving after reaching this point is significant because our aircraft have been tested,” Defense Minister Asif told a Pakistan’s Geo News channel.
“We are receiving those orders, and it is possible that after six months we may not even need the IMF.”
Pakistan markets the Chinese co-developed JF-17 as a lower-cost multi-role fighter and has positioned itself as a supplier able to offer aircraft, training and maintenance outside Western supply chains.
“I am saying this to you with full confidence,” Asif continued. “If, after six months, all these orders materialize, we will not need the IMF.”
Pakistan has repeatedly turned to the IMF for financial assistance to stabilize its economy. These loans come with strict conditions including fiscal reforms, subsidy cuts and measures to increase revenue that Pakistan must implement to secure disbursements.
In Sept. 2024, the IMF approved a $7 billion bailout for Pakistan under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program and a separate $1.4 billion loan under its climate resilience fund in May 2025, aimed at strengthening the country’s economic and climate resilience.
Pakistan has long been striving to expand defense exports by leveraging its decades of counter-insurgency experience and a domestic industry that produces aircraft, armored vehicles, munitions and other equipment.
The South Asian country reached a deal worth over $4 billion to sell military equipment to the Libyan National Army, Reuters report last month, citing Pakistani officials. The deal, one of Pakistan’s largest-ever weapons sales, included the sale of 16 JF-17 fighter jets and 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft for basic pilot training.
