Web Desk
Aug 18, 2024
ISLAMABAD: As the internet services across Pakistan have been sluggish for over the past two weeks, State Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja said netizens in the country tried to access apps and services that have been banned by the government.
Besides the consistent gloom hovering over the IT sector because of internet slowdowns, the IT minister claimed that Pakistan exported record-high IT services during the ongoing year.
While earlier claims attributed the internet outage across Pakistan to the firewall the government is installing to gatekeep the flow of information on the internet, Khawaja clarified that "the government did not hinder or slow down the internet in the country."
Read more: Telecom licensing revamped — PTA launches online Application Submission and Information System
Expressing gratitude to the freelancer fraternity that brought about the attainment of over Rs3 billion in IT exports, she assured that the IT sector is the top priority of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is set to preside over the digitisation committee being established for the nourishment of Pakistan's IT sector.
The government of Pakistan has also indulged in launching free academic courses aimed at teaching programming to youth, for which the government has allocated Rs4 bn out of the Rs60 bn budget announced in the annual budget for the IT sector.
As the programming courses will reportedly teach coding to over 10,000 aspirants, the government is also in talks with tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta to better strategise on the manner of coding-related educational programmes.
As part of initiatives being taken for a thriving IT sector, the government is also composing a proper ecosystem to let the country's gaming industry flourish.
