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Special investment council greenlights establishing Pakistan’s largest IT Park in Islamabad

A general view taken from a hilltop shows the Pakistan's capital city Islamabad and its suburbs, on May 27, 2021.
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Updated 25 March 2024
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Special investment council greenlights establishing Pakistan’s largest IT Park in Islamabad

  • Park to be operated under public-private partnership, will be spread over 3.3 acres in G-10 sector of Islamabad 
  • Will comprise research center, library, software houses, conference and exhibition rooms, work spaces for freelancers, start ups
Updated 25 March 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has given the go ahead to establish Pakistan’s largest IT Park on an area of 3.3 acres in the G-10 sector of the federal capital of Islamabad, state-run APP news agency said on Monday, in a bid to nurture an already thriving industry. 

Monthly IT exports from Pakistan were recorded at $257 million in February this year, 32 percent more than in the same month last year. Monthly IT exports in Feb. 2024 were higher than the last 12-month average of $233 million, according to central bank data released last week.

Pakistan’s IT exports in eight months of the current fiscal year, which began in July 2023, increased by 15 percent to $2 billion on an annual basis, compared to $1.7 billion recorded during the same period in the last fiscal year (8MFY23).

Pakistani exporters attribute the surge to supportive policies that have encouraged local companies to bring export proceeds back home and the formation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a civil-military hybrid forum, aimed at boosting foreign investment in the country. 

“This landmark decision [by the SIFC] marks a significant stride forward for Pakistan’s burgeoning tech landscape, promising unparalleled opportunities for innovation and progress,” APP reported, saying discussions were already being held between key stakeholders such as the Pakistan Software Export Board and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication to ensure the successful execution of the project.

“The envisioned IT Park is poised to become a nucleus of technological advancement, boasting a comprehensive array of facilities aimed at fostering creativity and entrepreneurship,” APP said.

“Among its features will be a state-of-the-art research center, a well-stocked library, software houses, conference rooms, dedicated work spaces for freelancers and start ups and an exhibition area for showcasing cutting-edge IT products.”

The IT Park project will be operated under a public-private partnership framework and benefit approximately 6,000 freelancers through access to top-notch facilities.

“Crucially, the construction of this pioneering IT hub will be financed through collaboration with private IT companies, which will also lease office spaces within the premises,” APP said. 

“This synergistic partnership model is anticipated to invigorate Pakistan’s tech ecosystem, driving economic growth and job creation in the digital sphere. With the impending realization of the IT Park in Islamabad’s G-10 sector, Pakistan stands on the cusp of a transformative era in its tech evolution, poised to harness the boundless potential of the digital age for the betterment of its people and economy.”

“$3.5 BILLION EXPORTS THIS YEAR”

Last week, Pakistani information technology exporters told Arab News they hoped to hit the $3.5 billion export milestone this year on the back of favorable policies at home and by successfully signing major deals with foreign, especially Saudi, firms.

“The increase in the retention limit by the central bank and formation of SIFC which gives confidence to the people that if they will have any problem, it would be resolved, have led to the export surge from Pakistan,” Zohaib Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), said.

“This year, we will hit an export target of $3.15 billion to $3.5 billion and next year, we will take it up to $5 billion because with the convenience of cross-border payments, the money of our companies that i lying abroad will come to Pakistan.”

The jump in IT exports has occurred due to a relaxation in the permissible retention limit by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which increased it from 35 percent to 50 percent in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts, and stable currency which encouraged IT companies to repatriate their foreign income and deposit it in local accounts, according to a report by Karachi-based Topline Securities brokerage house.

Khan said the central bank was facilitating exporters with measures that would yield further results in the coming years. 

“The central bank has introduced corporate debit cards, these products have now started coming out,” he said. “These products will allow exporters to bring in the money they have parked in foreign accounts because it will ensure cross-border payments.”

Currently, the P@SHA chief said, exporters were unable to make direct payments from Pakistan to companies or individuals abroad, but if the central bank allowed cross-border payments there would be no reason to keep export proceeds abroad.

Pakistani authorities are also focusing on harnessing the potential of IT exports and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in a recent interview expressed hope that the country’s IT exports would likely increase to $3.5 billion this year.

Pakistan’s market for computer software has also seen steady growth for the past several years, with the total size of the software sector at approximately $3.2 billion.

The United States is Pakistan’s largest market for IT, accounting for 54.5 percent in FY 2023, according to the International Trade Administration (ITA). Pakistan’s IT sector consists primarily of software development and IT-enabled services (ITeS) for data centers, technical service/call centers, and telecom services, with 60 percent ITeS serving international customers. Much of the growth is driven by the work of freelancers and tech start-ups.

The export push also comes from Saudi Arabia where dozens of Pakistani IT firms this month presented their innovative ideas and products at the LEAP tech exhibition, according to Khan. 

“Projects ranging from $8 to $10 million have been spot-closed, and a pipeline for projects worth $70 to $80 million has been generated,” he said, adding that Pakistanis who recently attended tech events in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Dubai were registering their companies there.

Last year, LEAP 2023 generated a whopping $9 billion in IT business and Pakistani companies generated leads worth upwards of $100 million on the sidelines in business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking, according to P@SHA. 

Khan estimated that there had been an increase of up to $100 million IT exports to Saudi Arabia in the last two years.

Topics: SIFC Pakistan Saudi Ties

Authorities warn of floods, landslides as monsoon currents likely to penetrate parts of Pakistan

Updated 27 July 2024
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Authorities warn of floods, landslides as monsoon currents likely to penetrate parts of Pakistan

  • This year, Pakistan recorded its ‘wettest April since 1961,’ with 59.3mm rainfall and 144 deaths in thunderstorms, house collapses
  • A top UN official last month warned that an estimated 200,000 people in Pakistan could be affected by the upcoming monsoon season
Updated 27 July 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday warned of flash floods and landslides as monsoon currents were likely to penetrate upper parts of the country over the next five days.
The monsoon currents from Arabian Sea may cause heavy rains from July 27 till July 31. Under the influence of this system, rainfall could trigger landslides, mudslides and cause boulders to fall, potentially disrupting roads, according to the NDMA.
The areas that are likely to be affected include upper parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Galiyat, Murree, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The rainfall can trigger hill torrents in Sulaiman and Kirthar mountain ranges as well as in DG Khan and Rajanpur regions.
“Flash floods can strike suddenly, catching people off guard,” the NDMA said in a statement. “Population at risk is advised to avoid flood waters and find a safe location away from flood-prone areas.”
The authority said it had issued instructions to all relevant departments to take necessary precautions to mitigate the possible effects of flooding and extreme weather.
“Even a mere six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet, and just one foot of moving water can sweep away a vehicle,” the NDMA noted in its advisory for the masses.
“Bridges can be hazardous during floods. Avoid crossing them if water is flowing rapidly. Avoid staying in weak structures. In case of intense rain, seek shelter in safe places such as schools, government buildings, or any concrete buildings.”
Pakistan is recognized as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change effects in the world. This year, the South Asian country recorded its “wettest April since 1961,” with 59.3 millimeters rainfall and at least 144 deaths in thunderstorms and house collapses, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the authorities.
Last month, a UN official warned that an estimated 200,000 people in Pakistan could be affected by the upcoming monsoon season, which is expected to bring heavier rains than usual.
The United Nations, with help from local authorities, has prepared a contingency plan, with $40 million set aside to respond to any emergencies, said Mohamed Yahya, the newly appointed Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan.
Unusually heavy rains in June 2022 triggered flash floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.

Topics: pakistan monsoon Pakistan Floods

Pakistani religious party vows to continue sit-in in Rawalpindi despite government’s offer for talks

Updated 27 July 2024
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Pakistani religious party vows to continue sit-in in Rawalpindi despite government’s offer for talks

  • Jamaat-e-Islami supporters have been holding a sit-in at a key intersection in Rawalpindi since Friday
  • The party wants the government to address cost-of-living crisis, remove additional taxes in the budget
Updated 27 July 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Jamat-e-Islami (JI), a Pakistani religio-political party, on Saturday vowed to continue its sit-in in Rawalpindi against the rising cost of living and additional taxes imposed in the latest budget, despite the government forming a negotiation committee for talks with the protesters.
The JI, led by Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, announced the sit-in in Islamabad to call for a reduction in power tariff amid soaring inflation and to review Pakistan’s agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).
The party’s caravans entered the capital from different directions as the district administration closed the capital’s Red Zone, which houses top government offices and the diplomatic enclave, with shipping containers and roads leading to parliament.
“Our dharna will continue as long as the government accepts our demands for a significant reduction in inflation and electricity prices,” Aamir Baloch, a JI spokesperson, told Arab News.
“The party chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman will be announcing a fresh strategy for the protests, dharna and engagement with the government today afternoon.”
The government has formed a three-member committee, which includes Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and two senior members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, to hold talks with the JI leadership.
“We are ready for negotiations, but don’t disrupt public life,” Tarar said at a news conference on Friday. “The government’s three-member committee will talk to you. Amir Muqam, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and I will negotiate with you. Whenever you express willingness, we are ready for the negotiations.”
But Baloch said the party would continue its protest and JI chief Rehman would join the sit-in at Zero Point — a major intersection in the city where various key roads and highways connect with each other — on Saturday.
He said thousands of JI workers had already reached the area, despite the government’s “brutalities.”
“The police have arrested dozens of our peaceful workers from D-Chowk,” he said, referring to a key spot close to the parliament building in Islamabad.
“The government wants to incite the peaceful protesters through such strong-arm tactics. It will be responsible for any law-and-order situation, if our workers are not released immediately.”
Police in the capital have deployed additional contingents, including personnel with riot gears, to prevent any untoward incident.
The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Expressway has also been closed with shipping containers near the Zero Point bridge, where the JI protesters have gathered.
Baloch said the party leadership would announce their future course of action after reaching Zero Point.
“One thing is for sure,” he said. “We are here to stay and will definitely stage a sit-in to press the government to meet our legitimate demands regarding inflation and taxes.”

Topics: jamaat e islami

Protesters in northwest Pakistan end weeklong sit-in after CM assures no military operation being launched

Updated 27 July 2024
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Protesters in northwest Pakistan end weeklong sit-in after CM assures no military operation being launched

  • Pakistan’s government last month announced a new campaign to counter a fresh surge in militancy in areas along the border with Afghanistan
  • The announcement raised fears among locals as past operations displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed livelihoods in region
Updated 27 July 2024
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: Thousands of protesters, who had been staging a sit-in in Pakistan’s Bannu district for a week, on Friday called off their protest after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur assured them that no military operation was being launched in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
Pakistan’s government last month announced a new campaign to counter a fresh surge in militancy in areas along the border with Afghanistan. Major opposition parties opposed the operation and in Bannu — where eight soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing last week — thousands held rallies to call for peace and security.
One of the key demands of the protesters in Bannu was for the government to not launch any new military operation in the province. They demanded that a spike in militant attacks in the region be tackled by empowering and better equipping civilian agencies like the police and the counter-terrorism department (CTD).
On Friday, CM Gandapur traveled to Bannu where he spoke to the protesters and announced at a rally that all their demands had been accepted in letter and spirit, lauding local elders for helping avert violence when two protesters were killed after gunfire triggered a stampede at the rally on June 19.
“I have a signed copy [of the demands]. It has been done the way you [protesters] wanted,” he told the gathering. “I’m the owner of this soil and land, no one can oppress me or coerce me. As chief minister, I declare that there will be no operation in the province.”
The announcement came a day after the provincial apex committee, which comprises civilian leaders and military commanders in the province, met to discuss the situation in Bannu. The KP government later clarified that police and the CTD would be tasked to take action against militants amid a surge in violence in the area.
The resentment for military operation stems from past displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and destruction of countless homes and businesses in successive military campaigns in KP that began in 2014. But Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry dispelled the fears this week, saying the newly proposed Azm-e-Istehkam campaign was not meant to be a full-scale military operation.
“We have offered sacrifices for our homeland and stood loyal to the country and its people. We left our homes and became nomads for our land and for the sake of peace,” Gandapur said. “We will offer sacrifices again but we will make the decisions ourselves and will not allow anyone to impose their decisions.”
The chief minister appreciated police for taking swift action against illegal armed groups in Bannu.
Provincial Minister for Public Health Engineering Pakhtunyar Khan, who hails from Bannu, said the people of the region had experienced “unspeakable hardships” for the sake of peace.
“We want peace for the entire province and we will not back down from this demand,” Khan said at the rally.
On Thursday, the apex committee said the judiciary would be requested to hold an inquiry into the Bannu shooting incident, a demand that had been put forward by protesters and Pakistan’s opposition alliance.
“Meanwhile, the government will hold its own inquiry and identify the persons responsible,” it said in a statement.

Topics: bannu protest

Pakistan plans to launch panda bonds, seeks cooperation of Chinese capital market investors

Updated 27 July 2024
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Pakistan plans to launch panda bonds, seeks cooperation of Chinese capital market investors

  • The bonds are denominated in China’s currency and will provide Pakistan access to Chinese capital markets
  • The finance minister also discusses the next CPEC stage, expected to emphasize business-to-business ties
Updated 27 July 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb briefed Governor of People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Pan Gongsheng on Pakistan’s plan to launch panda bonds during a meeting in Beijing on Friday in which they discussed a wide range of economic issues.
Panda bonds are sold in China’s domestic market and are denominated in its currency, though they are issued by non-Chinese entities. Pakistan plans to issue these bonds to diversify its funding sources and strengthen its foreign exchange reserves by attracting Chinese investors.
According to local media reports, the initial issuance is expected to raise between $250 million and $300 million, helping Pakistan improve its financial stability amid economic challenges like high inflation and declining forex reserves.
The minister spoke about the government’s economic policy during the meeting in which reprentatives of other financial institutions were also present.
“Underlining Pakistan’s plan to launch panda bonds, Minister for Finance briefed PBoC and other Financial Institutions about the steps taken so far and sought cooperation of the Chinese institutional investors in the capital market to seek benefit from the pro-business policies of the new [Pakistani] Government,” said a statement issued by the finance division after the meeting.
The Pakistani official also highlighted his country’s improving macroeconomic indicators, reforms in tax collection and energy sector and privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises.
He applauded Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative while reviewing the progress of its flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The minister noted the next phase of CPEC would focus on strengthening business-to-business cooperation, with private sector playing the central role in the development and economic growth.
He arrived in China on Thursday to open talks on power sector structural reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund, two government sources quoted by Reuters.
Aurangzeb is also accompanied by Pakistan’s Power Minster Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari.
According to Reuters, both officials are expected to take up several proposals with the Chinese side, including reprofiling of nearly $15 billion energy sector debt.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Muhammad Aurangzeb Pakistan china Pakistan economy Panda bonds

Pakistani craftsman strives to preserve antiques in a dying industry

Updated 27 July 2024
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Pakistani craftsman strives to preserve antiques in a dying industry

  • Based in Rawalpindi’s Bhabra Bazaar, Mohammad Shakeel Abbasi has restored centuries-old bugles, decorative dishes, jars, vases and teapots 
  • Artefacts at Abbasi’s shop sell for anywhere between $40 to $1,000, many collectors place orders after coming across antiques online
Updated 27 July 2024
Aamir Saeed

RAWALPINDI: Antiquarian Mohammad Shakeel Abbasi pulled open the shutter of his shop in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi to reveal a small space choke-full of bugles, decorative dishes, jars, vases, teapots, bowls and plates inscribed with ancient motifs.
Located in the historic Bhabra Bazaar, Abbasi’s shop, lit up by a few naked light bulbs, is among a dwindling number of antique restoration workshops in the garrison city. The 71-year-old inherited the craft from his forefathers and set up the shop nearly 40 years ago in 1985, now employing three workers who help him repair, polish and electroplate copper and brass relics to be sold to customers in Pakistan and abroad.
“Since then [1985] I’ve been in this business,” Abbasi told Arab News at his shop earlier this month as he dusted an antique bugle. “We purchase antique items and repair them and polish them and then sell them to our dedicated customers.” 
Buyers reach out to him from as far as the UK and US, he added. 
Abbasi mainly sources copper and brass items from households and scrap dealers, who scour heaps of imported items that first land at the port in Pakistan’s commercial hub of Karachi. 
“The traders who buy them, they contact us,” the craftsman said. “They are broken items, and we have to repair them and polish and recondition them to the extent that you cannot even tell that this was an old item.”
Antiques at Abbasi’s shop can sell for anywhere between $40 to $1,000, but the art of antique preservation and restoration is now at risk of being lost as the new generation is opting out of the profession. 
“The problem is that the craftsmen who used to work [on antiques] are no longer available. Not a lot of attention is given to this craft, The government has also not prioritized training craftsmen,” Abbasi lamented. 
“Antiquarians quit the business due to lack of business, and some passed away and the new generation isn’t interested in this line of work.”
Customers and collectors who frequent Abbasi’s shop often place orders after coming across antique items on the Internet.
“I have liked an antiques page [on social media]. I searched for an item on the Internet and told him [Abbasi] about it and he arranged it for me,” Dr. Ahmad Ali, an antique collector, told Arab News. “It was the same thing that I had ordered.”
Shamas Rehman, who has been a collector for over two decades, praised Abbasi’s fine craftsmanship. 
“My forefathers were collecting antiques, it was their hobby, and now I have been collecting them since 2003,” he said, “and from wherever we can get the antiques, we buy them, collect them and place them in our homes, and this goes on.”

Topics: Antiquities Rawalpindi

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