Pakistan’s information technology sector posted record-breaking results in fiscal year 2024-25, with Pakistan IT exports reaching $4.6 billion. This marked a 26.4% increase from the previous year. Despite the surge, industry stakeholders continued to highlight inadequate government support for the sector.
The total earnings included $3.8 billion from IT-enabled services and $779 million generated by freelancers and remote workers. Freelancing revenues alone grew by 90%, reflecting the rapid rise of Pakistan’s digital workforce.
According to the Ministry of IT and Telecom, the remarkable growth came from action in five focus areas. These included positioning Pakistan globally, investing in talent and infrastructure, ensuring stable high-speed internet, supporting the industry through policy, and driving digitalisation with cashless initiatives.
IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said Pakistan is on course to achieve $15 billion in Pakistan IT exports by 2030. She credited the milestone to a unified national strategy supported by the government, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), and allied agencies.
In her remarks to the media, the minister emphasised the coordinated efforts of civilian and military leadership, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the Ministry of Finance, the Planning Commission, the Universal Service Fund (USF), Ignite, and the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB).
She highlighted a strong focus on developing human capital. More than 350,000 young professionals were trained under joint programmes with PSEB, Ignite, NAVTTC, HEC, and global technology giants such as Google, Huawei, and Microsoft.
The IT ministry also launched 43 new co-working spaces and 23 Special Technology Zones, bringing the total number of technology parks to 44. Over 18,000 professionals, including freelancers, remote workers, and startups, now operate from these facilities.
Shaza Fatima further announced incentives, including interest-free loans, to expand co-working spaces into tier-2 and tier-3 cities. “We are rapidly establishing ourselves as a regional digital and data hub,” she said.
Connectivity in the country has seen notable improvement. Pakistan now has over 200 million mobile service subscribers, including 150 million active mobile broadband users. Data usage rose by 24% last year and is projected to climb further, reflecting stronger digital engagement.
USF connected more than 550 villages to the internet in the past year and plans to double this figure in the current fiscal cycle. “We are bridging the digital divide in underserved areas,” the minister noted.
She also disclosed that regulatory groundwork for licensing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet providers was nearly complete. Licences will be issued within the current year, expanding access to faster connectivity.
The government’s broader $25 billion digital vision aims to generate $15 billion through Pakistan IT exports and $10 billion via nationwide digitalisation. A key part of this plan is the Digital Pakistan Act, which establishes the Pakistan Digital Authority.
Even with these achievements, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) called for a predictable tax and compliance framework. Chairman Sajjad Syed stressed that innovators spend too much time dealing with overlapping regulations instead of building export-oriented products.