Pakistan's Tech Lobby Warns That Slow Internet is Strangling IT Industry

Pakistan's IT Industry Association (P@SHA) -- the nation's sole tech biz lobby group -- has warned that government policy could lead to business closures and financial losses among its constituents, and damage the nation's IT exports. From a report: P@SHA's main beef is with a slowing of internet access speeds, and government-imposed service outages. Pakistan went offline in May 2022 around the time of mass political protests and blackouts have since persisted -- prompting services like freelance gig platform Fiverr to warn clients that hiring members from Pakistan could mean potential disruptions.

Fiverr matters in Pakistan, because the nation has a policy of encouraging freelancers to sell their services online as part of a plan to grow tech services exports. The nation even floated the idea of providing its freelance workers with a tax holiday, subsidized broadband and health insurance as a way of supporting the online labor force.

But freelancers have had a hard time of it since the August 2024 introduction of what appears to be a new national firewall. Pakistan has long tried to limit access to what it feels is inappropriate content, and the firewall was aimed at helping that effort. But it greatly slowed internet access speeds -- making life hard for freelancers and other online businesses.

Spoils based government.

[Gravis Zero]

Pakistan has a "spoils" based government [wikipedia.org]. This means that whoever wins the election completely replaces the nation's government. This obviously leads to a lot of corruption and it's the major reason why Pakistan lacks reliable power. Forget slow internet access, a lot of areas don't even have electricity.

See also:
* https://thediplomat.com/2024/0... [thediplomat.com]
* https://www.bbc.com/news/world... [bbc.com]

Re:

[Slayer]

This obviously leads to a lot of corruption and it's the major reason why Pakistan lacks reliable power. Forget slow internet access, a lot of areas don't even have electricity.

Some areas lacking a stable electric grid won't kill their IT industry, but severely strangled internet certainly will. This malaise has been going on for months and they still haven't gotten this under control, while still pursuing their stupid policy.

This is an epic fail of the Pakistani government, and they know it.

Re:

[Cyberax]

Pakistan has a "spoils" based government [wikipedia.org].

In other words, exactly the thing that Trump wants.

Re: Spoils based government.

[fenrif]

In USA or Israel?

Re:

[Gravis Zero]

Sadly, yes. This is actually something that has been pointed out by several prominent experts.

Re:

[Pig Hogger]

And never mind that people routinely kill each other because they worship the wrong kind of sect even though they are of the same religion

Dammit, Jim!

[gavron]

I was JUST ABOUT TO MOVE TO PAKISTAN!!!

I was going to work in a call center so I can pleased to be helping you today with this thing you are calling about turn the page script page two and please hold while I look up your account pause thank you very much.

I'm a privileged white dude here, but in Pakistan I'd just fit right in!!! Sure, Indians in Kashmir would want to kill me and my family, but you can't have everything.

But...

SLOW INTERNEt??? That's not even acceptable in Urugay. Pretty much everywhere h

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

it's like India, but with more terrorists

Mail

[bill_mcgonigle]

I mailed a guy in India a set of Redhat CD's c. 2001 because he tried to download it on his company's T1 for about three weeks and failed.

I think they had about 2000 people. It only took two weeks to arrive via DHL.

Right...

[zkiwi34]

Did Pakistan ever have decent connection, other than for their intelligence apparatus, together with their offshoots... namely Taliban, Al Queda, and Isis?