Sajjad Mustafa Syed, Chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) – the apex representative body of the Information Technology industry – has warned that the internet slowdown and blocking of virtual private network (VPN) services will certainly translate into an existential threat as it will result in unrecoverable financial loss, service disruptions, and reputational loss in the export of IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS).
It is pertinent to note that IT industry exports clocked at $3.2 billion in FY24, he added.
Sajjad further elaborated that even by conservative estimates the IT industry will suffer losses in tens of millions of dollars in the short term; and the reputational and intangible loses will be huge and devastating for the industry in the longer run, especially with the global competitive landscape evolving in this space.
It will be a huge blow to one of the fastest-growing industries of Pakistan and will also have domino effect on other sectors of the economy as IT has become an integral part of all industries, he added.
Sajjad made it clear that domestic and international IT companies will be forced to close or significantly restrict their operations in Pakistan – and it will be detrimental to the most flourishing industry of Pakistan vis-à-vis exports, skills development and employment generation. It will be an irreparable setback to the enabling and fruitful initiatives P@SHA is driving with the support of Ministry of IT & Telecom (MoITT), Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC); and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). In addition to this, it will be extremely demoralizing and discouraging for our IT companies, their workforce, start-up entrepreneurs, freelancers, and everyone involved in the sector – who are working very hard to bring Pakistan at the forefront of global technology destinations.
