ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Prime Minister An­waarul Haq Kakar on Thursday said that with a focus on training of human resources as per contem­porary requirements, enabling en­vironment and imbibing the spirit of entrepreneurship in the youth, the true potential of Pakistan’s IT sector could be harnessed. 

“This will turn around and uplift our economy in the short to medi­um term, Inshallah... I assure you of the government’s full support to help you explore the untapped po­tential in Pakistan’s IT sector,” he said addressing a Tech Destination Pakistan event which featured the launch of E-Rozgar Centers in the country. 

He said the government through its Digital Policy envisioned bring­ing economic prosperity and citi­zen empowerment through digital transformation as it was working on the vision of “Digital Pakistan” through multiple cross-sectoral digital transformation initiatives. 

He said the government was tak­ing every step possible to facili­tate the IT sector by creating an enabling environment and an eco­system through a broad range of legislative, policy, regulatory and operational initiatives with a focus on inclusion to help reap full ben­efits of digitalization. 

He said the IT sector was the government’s focus for achieving a sustainable economic develop­ment and realize the full potential of technological advancement.

The prime minister said that Pa­kistan had experienced significant growth in the information and communication technology sector in recent years. The country’s ICT industry has become an impor­tant contributor to the economy, generating revenue, attracting FDI and creating jobs, he added. 

“We are exporting IT and IT-en­abled services to more than 190 countries. Our IT industry is an in­tegral part of the knowledge econ­omy thereby earning its repute as a leading offshore outsourcing destination through innovation, availability of talent, government incentives and other initiatives for the IT sector. With over 90% Tele-density, Pakistan was recent­ly ranked as the 2nd most finan­cially attractive destination in the world for offshore outsourcing of IT and IT enabled Services (ITeS). Pakistan was also ranked as the third most popular country for freelancing,” he said. 

Prime Minister Kakar said the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and its various committees had already started to deliver and perform their role in an active manner. “Among oth­er priority sectors, the inclusion of IT Sector under the umbrel­la of SIFC demonstrates the com­mitment of our government to fur­ther promoting the ICT industry, “ he added. 

“We believe that the develop­ment of IT sector will bring huge benefits to the nation. It will help in creating more employment op­portunities, increase revenues, lift service sector exports and boost foreign reserves.” 

He said that Pakistan with its tal­ented and skilled human resource base, digital infrastructure, en­trepreneurial spirit, and vision to digital transformation was all set to become a knowledge-based economy. 

The prime minister told the gath­ering of diplomats, civil and mili­tary officers, industry leaders, free­lancers and entrepreneurs that Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) had increased the num­ber of Software Technology Parks (STPs) from eight across Pakistan to 30 now. “We are in the process of establishing another 40 Software Technology Parks in the smaller cities across Pakistan,” he added.

Highlighting the milestones achieved by the government, he mentioned 50% foreign exchange retention, up-skilling and re-skill­ing of 100,000 individuals, central­ized test for IT students, establish­ment of 10,000 Pakistan E-Rozgar Centers, Pakistan Startup Fund, approval of Digital Economy En­hancement Project (DEEP), ap­proval of Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Framework, Establish­ment of Telecom Appellate Tribu­nal, and National Space Policy. 

He said the government’s efforts were leading Pakistan to emerge as one of top online gig markets, with freelancers contributing from remote areas.

“The establishment of E-Rozgaar/Co-working centers across Pakistan, supported by in­terest-free loans and assistance in training costs, aims to enhance partner capacities. This initia­tive aims to create an ecosystem where talented individuals can thrive. These spaces will not only serve as physical locations for work but also as hubs for knowl­edge exchange, skill development, and networking,” he remarked.

In his address, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Dr Umar Saif said the event was the continuation of the journey initiat­ed six months ago under the Tech Destination initiative. He said the government was well on its way to achieve the goals as substantial work had been done in this regard.

He said the government, un­der the SIFC, some radical steps had been taken to facilitate the IT firms which helped increase IT revenue by 13 percent during the last month.

He called for the promotion of specialized and globally competi­tive skills to make the youths im­mediately employable by the IT firms after their graduation. He said the 65 E-Rozgar centers were already working in Punjab which had so far trained 80,000 people.

He said in order to scale up the program, 10,000 E-Rozgar Centers would be opened in the country which would also be given the sta­tus of Special Technology Zones to make them enjoy tax exemptions.

He told the gathering that start­ing from February, the government would launch a pilot project ini­tially to enable 10,000 freelancers receive funds from PayPal which would be expanded later on.

Federal IT Secretary Hassan Na­sir Jami said within the short span of time, the IT ministry had intro­duced multiple initiatives to en­hance IT exports and facilitate the freelancers.

He said the IT ministry was com­mitted to developing an IT ecosys­tem and called upon entrepre­neurs, students and developers to take advantages of opportunities available.