ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Science Minister Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry said on Tuesday he had advised the country’s telecommunications regulator against blanket bans on social media apps and suggested regulations instead that would help the technology industry grow.
His comments came just hours after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said it had banned the Singaporean live-streaming app Bigo over “immoral, obscene and vulgar content” and issued a “final warning” to Chinese video sharing platform Tiktok for "similar" reasons.
Earlier this month, PTA also banned the hugely popular online game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG, saying it was addictive, a waste of players’ time and was having an adverse effect on the mental and physical health of the country’s youth.
“I’ve already advised PTA that they should not slap such bans,” Chaudhry said in a phone interview. “All such one-sided bans, I think, won’t help the tech industry.”
“Regulation is something else, ban is something else,” he added. “Regulation? Yes. But, no bans.”
PTA has said it had issued several warnings to social media companies to moderate their content and bring it in line with Pakistani laws, but was not satisfied with the “response.”
Therefore, the regulator said, it had “decided to immediately block Bigo and issue final warning to TikTok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity and immorality through its social media application.”
But Chaudhry said such decisions were not “conducive” to helping Pakistan’s tech industry grow.
The information technology sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Pakistan and contributes about one percent of GDP at about $3.5 billion, according to government data. IT exports were recorded to be the highest in Pakistan’s history at $1.067 billion in 2017-18, compared to $939 million registered the previous year.
In accordance with the digital policy of Pakistan, announced in 2018, the government aims to achieve an IT export target of $20 billion by 2025.
“Internet is like a library, it’s up to you which kind of book you want to choose,” the science minister said. “If you say the whole library should be shut down because it contains some vulgar books, it’ll obviously not really help Pakistan, especially when Pakistan is growing in the field of technology. Such bans are actually not conducive for the environment.”
Chaudhry also said he was against the ban on PUBG because while Pakistan was the world’s fourth largest software exporter, it was not a significant player in the gaming world.
“We need to take our share [in gaming] because our youth is good at it,” he said.
PTA did not respond to multiple calls and text messages for this story.
Pakistan’s science minister opposes telco regulator’s ban on social media apps
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Pakistan’s science minister opposes telco regulator’s ban on social media apps
- Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has banned Bigo over “obscene and vulgar content” and issued a “final warning” to Tiktok
- Fawad Chaudhry says such bans not "conducive" to helping the technology industry grow in Pakistan
Pakistan textile exporters seek US duty-free access as regional rivals gain tariff edge
- Industry says India negotiated 18 percent US tariff while Bangladesh secured zero-duty access for garments made with American cotton
- It says improved market access for rivals, coupled with lower input costs, poses threat to Pakistan’s textile and apparel exports
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile industry on Wednesday urged the government to seek preferential market access from the United States after India and Bangladesh secured improved tariff terms, intensifying competitive pressure on the country’s largest export sector.
In a letter to Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) said recent trade developments risk eroding Pakistan’s export share in its biggest market at a time when the industry is already grappling with high energy costs, elevated interest rates and a difficult business environment.
India has negotiated an 18 percent tariff with the United States, compared with around 19 percent faced by Pakistan, while Bangladesh recently secured zero-tariff access for garments and made-ups manufactured using American cotton, the letter said.
“In view of the rapidly changing competitive landscape, we respectfully urge that the Government of Pakistan may kindly approach the United States authorities to seek duty-free access for Pakistani textile and apparel products made from American cotton,” APTMA said in the letter which it shared on social media platform X. “Such an arrangement would support Pakistan’s exports, strengthen bilateral trade, and increase US cotton sales.”
The industry body said it had previously shared similar proposals with the Ministry of Commerce ahead of tariff negotiations in early 2025 and had also approached the US embassy with a proposal for concessional market access.
It warned that improved access for competitors, combined with lower input costs in rival countries, posed a “serious and immediate threat” to Pakistan’s textile and apparel exports.
APTMA also sought a meeting with the ministry officials to advance the proposal, arguing that an arrangement linked to American cotton imports could create a mutually beneficial trade framework while helping Pakistan retain competitiveness in the US market.
Pakistan’s textile and apparel sector accounts for the bulk of the country’s exports and is a key source of foreign exchange for the struggling economy.
