Pakistan’s information technology sector is on track to achieve $4 billion in exports for the fiscal year 2024-25, up from $3.2 billion in FY24, representing a projected 25% year-on-year growth, according to Muhammad Umair Nizam, Senior Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).
Nizam made these remarks during a high-profile CXO session held in Karachi, where P@SHA brought together top IT leaders to discuss the sector’s growth trajectory, challenges, infrastructure, and investment opportunities. Notable attendees included P@SHA Vice Chairman Raheel Iqbal, Treasurer Haris Naseer, and Central Executive Committee members Munaf Majeed, Usman Akbar, and Hassan Bin Rizwan.
He commended the support received from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Ministry of IT & Telecom (MoITT), Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), and the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB). However, he urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to expedite regulatory reforms and policy implementation to sustain momentum in the IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) sector.
The industry is rapidly expanding into new sub-sectors and technologies, but outdated regulations are becoming bottlenecks, Nizam explained. He emphasized that the upcoming Federal Budget 2025–26, expected in June, should reflect a pro-investment and pro-business approach.
READ MORE: Pakistan Emerges as Global Crypto Leader with $300B in Annual Transactions
P@SHA’s key proposals for the budget include:
-
A 10-year tax holiday for new investments
-
Simplification of foreign exchange regulations
-
Enhanced facilitation by commercial banks
-
Removal of sales tax anomalies
-
Funding for digital skills development
-
Fast-tracking the establishment of Special Technology Zones (STZs) and IT parks
A critical demand was to address tax parity between salaried employees and freelancers. Currently, salaried tech professionals are taxed up to 35%, while freelancers pay only 0.25–1%, a gap that Nizam called a “glaring anomaly.”
Former P@SHA Chairman Muhammad Zohaib Khan emphasized that IT is Pakistan’s only sector with a 75% trade surplus, and one capable of exponential growth, job creation, and stabilizing the country’s economic indicators.
