Government says Pakistan’s IT exports hit record monthly high in December

In this photograph, taken on March 8, 2024, people work at their stations at the Systems Limited, one of Pakistan’s largest software export companies, in Karachi. (AN Photo/File)
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Updated 20 January 2026
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Government says Pakistan’s IT exports hit record monthly high in December

  • Finance adviser says IT exports crossed $400 million for first time in a month
  • Pakistan aims to double exports to $60 billion in four years, with IT a key driver

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information technology exports climbed to a record $437 million in December, crossing the $400 million mark for the first time on a monthly basis, the government’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad said in a social media post on Monday.

The surge underscores the growing role of the tech sector as Pakistan seeks to boost exports while emerging from a prolonged economic crisis that drained foreign exchange reserves, widened balance-of-payments pressures and weakened the currency.

The government is now aiming for export-led growth as part of broader structural reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.

“December 2025 exports reached $437 million — crossing $400 million in a month for the first time ever,” Schehzad said in a post on X, adding that this represented 23 percent month-on-month growth from November and 26 percent year-on-year growth compared with December 2024.

For the first half of the current fiscal year, IT exports reached $2.24 billion, up 20 percent from a year earlier, making the sector the largest and most consistent contributor within services exports, he said.

Pakistan has been under pressure to sharply lift exports as it works to stabilize its economy.

Earlier this month, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the country must double its exports to $60 billion within four years or risk returning to the IMF.

Pakistan’s IT exports have been on a steady upward trajectory in recent years. They reached a record $3.8 billion in the 2024–25 financial year, according to official data.

The momentum has carried into the current fiscal year, with IT exports posting 19 percent year-on-year growth during the first five months from July to November.

Exports during the period stood at $1.8 billion, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The government has said it sees the technology sector as a key driver of foreign exchange earnings and job creation as Pakistan seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains and attract new investment.
 


Pakistan’s capital police look to military expertise to build elite SWAT force

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Pakistan’s capital police look to military expertise to build elite SWAT force

  • A SWAT force is an elite, specially trained police unit that is deployed in high-risk and complex security situations
  • Islamabad police have requested attachment of two army majors, 16 SSG commandos for training of personnel

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police have sought the assistance of Pakistan Army to help establish a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, an official said on Friday, as the capital police department undertakes multifaceted duties.

The development comes amid a surge in militancy in Pakistan and follows a suicide blast that killed 12 people and injured 36 others outside a district court’s complex in Islamabad’s G-11 sector in Nov. last year, prompting heightened security measures by authorities.

A SWAT force is an elite, specially trained police unit that is deployed in high-risk and complex situations that regular police are not equipped to handle. Various countries train their SWAT personnel in close-quarters combat, tactical movement and breaching, explosives handling and crisis response.

In a letter written to the Islamabad chief commissioner, Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi noted the capital police were performing multifaceted duties, including maintenance of law and order, crime prevention as well as security and route assignments, requesting the attachment of army personnel.

“We are establishing a SWAT [unit] and we have asked for officers from them to impart training and the National Police Academy has requested too,” he said.

The Islamabad police have inducted 200 personnel in the SWAT force that is likely to operate under the command and supervision of a senior superintendent of police, according to local media reports.

The capital police department seeks services of two army majors and 16 commandos from the military’s elite Special Services Group (SSG), according to the letter seen by Arab News. Of the 16 commandos, 10 are to be deputed at the National Police Academy.

Late last year, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration also introduced an electronic tagging system as part of a broader effort to enhance surveillance, regulate traffic and improve record-keeping in a city that hosts the country’s main government institutions, foreign missions and diplomatic enclaves.

Under the system, vehicles are fitted with electronic tags that can be read automatically by scanners installed at checkpoints across the capital, allowing authorities to identify unregistered vehicles without manual inspections.