By Commerce Reporter
LAHORE, November 27 — President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigol, said that the quality of internet service in Pakistan has declined sharply in recent years, while the world is rapidly advancing in IT and technology.
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He said Pakistan is falling behind in the race for innovation, even though freelancing and the digital economy offer major opportunities for the country. He was meeting a delegation of IT professionals at the LCCI.
Senior Vice President Tanveer Ahmed Sheikh, Executive Committee Members Firdous Nisar and Syed Salman Ali were also present. The delegation was led by Atif Mahmood Tahir, and included Tayyab Manzoor, Atif Javaid, Aizazi Nawaz, Ali Murtaza, Arsalan Gul, Gul Raina and Zoha Liaqat.
Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigol said that the Lahore Chamber has been working for a long time to improve internet, IT services and the freelancing sector, because technology is now the fastest-growing field for attracting foreign investment. He said if connectivity does not improve, Pakistan’s IT exports, freelancing income, and startup culture will suffer.
CEO Multinet Atif Mahmood said that Pakistan’s tech market has now reached nearly USD 20 billion, and if infrastructure is improved, it has the potential to grow to USD 60 billion. He said this growth is only possible if Pakistan makes serious efforts to ensure fast, stable and modern internet services.
Atif Mahmood Tahir said that in the past five years no major work has been done on Pakistan’s internet infrastructure. He said freelancing, the digital economy and startup culture are growing fast, but Pakistan’s internet system is unable to meet their needs. Due to lack of fiber networks and data centers, Pakistan has fallen behind other countries in the region.
He said that if the government focuses on the technology sector, speeds up the development of special tech zones, and upgrades internet services to international standards, Pakistan’s digital economy can grow many times over and create significant job opportunities for young people.
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