The scene at the recent GSMA Summit in Islamabad should have been a celebration of Pakistan’s digital potential. Instead, it became a wake-up call that the country’s ambitious “Digital Pakistan” vision is colliding with harsh policy realities. The most telling moment? The conspicuous absence of IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja from an event designed to chart the nation’s digital future.
Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, didn’t mince words about the minister’s no-show, calling it “unfortunate” given the summit’s critical importance. But his warning carried far greater weight: “Investors will walk away, and the people of Pakistan will pay the price if policy stagnation continues.”
This stark assessment from the global telecom industry’s leading body reflects a growing consensus that Pakistan stands at a digital crossroads. With over 600,000 IT professionals and a booming freelance economy, the country possesses the human capital to become a regional digital powerhouse. Yet policy paralysis, punitive taxation, and regulatory uncertainty threaten to squander this advantage just as the Asia Pacific digital economy prepares for explosive growth. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
