KARACHI: Destine to become the fourth fastest growing economy by 2030, Pakistan, supported by a growing population, fast growing business and increasing penetration of Internet, is poised to grab first position among the digital economies, Information Technology (IT) experts say.
US technology giant, Google, says Pakistan is quickly becoming a “digital-first country”, which means there are new opportunities for brands to reach and engage with consumers that may have previously been overlooked.
“It shows that Google has realized the marketing potential of the country and they are now encouraging businesses to focus on Pakistan as a potential market,” Badar Khushnood, vice president of growth at Fishry.Com and vice chairman of P@SHA, commented.
According to Google, there are five reasons for “considering expanding your digital campaigns into Pakistan”.
Pakistan’s growing population is the first reason that makes the country attractive for the foreign and local investors to venture into the IT sector.
“Pakistan has a population of more than 202 million people, which means there are lot of potential consumers coming online every day. And the country is even more urbanized than neighboring India, with nearly 40 percent of total households living in cities,” writes Lars Anthonisen, head of large customer marketing, South Asia, Google.
Pakistan’s economy grew by 5.7 percent in fiscal year 2018. HSBC in is recent report published in September 2018 has projected Pakistan to become the fourth fastest growing economy by 2030.
Around 90 percent of the companies in the country are SMEs which are contributing more that 40 percent to the country’s 313 billion economy, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
Third attraction, according to Google, is the country’s growing smart phone users. Pakistan has 152 million cellar subscribers, and 60 million 3G/4G subscribers, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
This number will likely grow quickly as smart phone prices have dropped over the last few years. Pakistan also has some of the cheapest data prices in the world, which is helping to grow mobile app usage, according to Google.
However, experts say more work is needed to be done to fully utilize the existing potential. “We need to work on optic fibers, penetration of 4G, creation of data centers, telecom infrastructure and most importantly creation of awareness among masses,” Pervaiz Iftikhar, a member of the newly formed prime minister’s Taskforce on IT and Telecom, told Arab News.
Pakistan’s overall Internet penetration stands at 29.9 percent with 62 million broadband subscribers, a fourth attraction for the investor, as per Google. In spite of this, digital consumption in the country continues to grow quickly. YouTube watch time, for example, has seen over 60 percent growth over the last three years.
The Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the largest Chinese investment venture in Pakistan with around $62 billion, a fifth reason to look toward Pakistan.
The mega project under BRI is not only limited to the infrastructure and energy sector but it is also contributing to the growth of the IT sector in Pakistan.
“One of the first CPEC projects is to lay 820 kilometers of fiber-optic cable, connecting more Pakistanis to the Internet. This is in addition to ongoing investments in 3G and 4G network expansions from China Mobile, and the company has already announced plans to invest another $225 million in 4G expansion (bringing its total investment to $2.4 billion),” writes Lars Anthonisen.
“We have to connect every village through fiber optics that will not only create thousands of jobs but would multiply opportunities for the IT business countrywide,” Pervaiz Iftikhar added.
“A lot of potential exists in the IT sector of Pakistan with the young population turning to computers, smart phones and other digital means, and the country offers big market for local and foreign investors”, Jehan Ara, another member of the prime minister’s Taskforce on IT and Telecom and president of P@SHA, commented.
Badar Khushnood, who is also former consultant of Google, Facebook and Twitter, called for comprehensive policy for the growth of the IT sector.
“Taxation systems should be rationalized, simplified, and encouraging for startups. The country also needs data protection laws, and broader cyber laws,” he added.
The first meeting of the prime minister’s Task Force on IT and Telecom is expected to be held next week in Islamabad. “Comprehensive strategy including short term and long term measures would be discussed in the upcoming meeting of taskforce because country needs a policy for the persistent growth of IT and Telecom sector”, Pervaiz Iftikhar informed.
Pakistan is rapidly becoming a “digital-first country”, Google
Pakistan is rapidly becoming a “digital-first country”, Google
- Pakistan digital growth is supported by population and increasing penetration of internet, IT experts
- Prime Minister’s Taskforce on IT and Telecom to meet next week to draw comprehensive policy
Journalists arrested in Turkiye over Syria drone deaths demo
- Turkiye has up to 18,000 troops in Syria, according to a Turkish official, and has said it could launch a military operation if the Kurdish forces in northern Syria do not lay down their arms
ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities arrested nine people, including seven journalists, for taking part in banned demonstration in support of two Turkish-Kurdish journalists killed by a Turkish drone in northern Syria, media and rights groups said Sunday.
Nazim Dastan, 32, and Cihan Bilgin, 29, who worked for Kurdish media, were killed Thursday near the Tishrin dam, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Aleppo, when their car exploded, the Dicle Firat Turkish journalists’ association said.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the journalists were killed by a Turkish drone, as did Kurdish media in Turkiye and Syria.
The MLSA Turkish media rights group said 59 people had been detained for taking part in a protest Saturday banned by police. It said 50 people subsequently released.
“Seven journalists detained yesterday as they tried to make a statement in favor of the dead journalists Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin” have been formally arrested for “terrorist propaganda,” MLSA said on the X social media platform.
Since the fall of Bashar Assad on December 8, Turkiye has supported an offensive by armed groups against Kurdish forces that control a zone in northern Syria.
Turkiye has up to 18,000 troops in Syria, according to a Turkish official, and has said it could launch a military operation if the Kurdish forces in northern Syria do not lay down their arms.
Albania bans TikTok for a year after killing of teenager
- Prime Minister Edi Rama government’s decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil
TIRANA: Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children.
The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents’ groups and teachers from across the country.
“For one year, we’ll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania,” Rama said.
Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16.
Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school.
His government’s decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also emerged on TikTok of minors supporting the killing.
“The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage,” Rama said.
TikTok said it was seeking “urgent clarity” from the Albanian government.
“We found no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and multiple reports have in fact confirmed videos leading up to this incident were being posted on another platform, not TikTok,” a company spokesperson said.
Suspect in German Christmas market attack was ‘not quite what many rushed to assume’, veteran British journalist says
- ‘Evidence from his social media indicates he was an anti-Islam doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 from Saudi Arabia’
DUBAI: British journalist Andrew Neil said the attacker behind Friday night’s deadly car-ramming at a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany appeared to be ‘not quite what many on social media rushed to assume.’
“Evidence from his social media indicates he was an anti-Islam doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 from Saudi Arabia,” the veteran journalist posted on his social media account.
The suspect, who was identified by German authorities as 50-year-old Saudi psychologist Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, who had permanent residency and had lived in Germany for almost two decades. The motive for the car-ramming remained unknown, and a police operation was under way in the town of Bernburg, south of Magdeburg, where the suspect was believed to have lived.
The Saudi doctor behind last night’s deadly Christmas market massacre in Magdeburg appears to be not quite what many on social media rushed to assume.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) December 21, 2024
Evidence from his social media indicates he was an anti-Islam doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 from Saudi Arabia.…
Reports have noted that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker, who had posted extremist views on his personal X account. Germany’s Der Spiegel said the attacker sympathized with the far-right Alternative for Germany party. The magazine did not say where it got the information.
“Various media reports suggest he helped ex-Muslims, particularly women, to flee Saudi Arabia after turning their backs on Islam,” Neil commented. Neil also noted that the suspect posted tweets in support Elon Musk, jailed far right activist Tommy Robinson and malevolent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
“His social media posts also indicate he thought Germany not doing enough to help Saudi female asylum seekers who had rejected Islam – and that the authorities were trying to undermine his work on their behalf,” the British journalist added.
“In his recent social-media posts published days before the attack he claimed the German government was promoting Islamisation and accused authorities of censoring and persecuting him because of his critical views of Islam. On his website, he warned prospective refugees to avoid Germany because of its government’s tolerance of radical Islam,” Neil said.
Christmas markets are a huge part of German culture as an annual holiday tradition, and the violence has prompted other German towns to cancel their weekend events as a precaution and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss.
Berlin kept its markets open but has increased its police presence at them.
Syrian Al-Jazeera presenter returns to post-Assad Hama after 12 years in exile
- Fakhouri, a former presenter at the Syrian TV station, fled the country in 2012 after tight censorship
- He was interrogated by the State Security Department over revolution coverage
DUBAI: Syrian Al-Jazeera presenter Ahmad Fakhouri received an overwhelming welcome from crowds of hundreds of people as he returned to his hometown Hama after 12 years in exile.
In a video posted on his social media channels, Fakhouri is seen waving at huge crowds who gathered in the streets in a collective moment of celebration after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
“Come to us, Fakhouri,” people cheered and chanted, inviting him to join the celebrations in the video which Fakhouri captioned: “The people of Hama. None but you are my family and my support.”
Fakhouri, a former presenter at the Syrian TV station, fled the country in 2012 after tight censorship was placed on the media during the days of the revolution.
During a 2013 interview with Al Jazeera, Fakhouri said he was not allowed to cover the protests, then later was asked to use derogatory terms, such as “terrorists, infiltrators, and enemies of the homeland,” to describe the demonstrators.
“I was naive enough to ask Bouthaina Shaaban (media advisor to the Syrian Presidency) during high-level meetings to allow us to conduct interviews with the opposition, thinking that Syrian television belonged to the people and not to a specific faction,” Fakhouri had told Al Jazeera at the time.
He also reported being under constant surveillance from security and intelligence officers as a presenter.
Rejecting the regime’s policies that insisted on denying the protests, Fakhouri said he refrained from presenting live news, limiting his work to the weekly news bulletin. When he first decided to leave Syria, he discovered he was banned from travelling.
Shortly afterwards, he was summoned for an interrogation at the State Security Department, facing charges of inciting sectarian divisions and cooperating with foreign entities to disrupt public security. He was also accused of receiving money from his expatriate brother “to fund armed terrorists.”
He reported being blindfolded, and hearing “sounds of torture” and insults directed at detainees across from his interrogation room.
When he was released at the request of the media minister, Fakhouri decided to head to Aleppo where he hid for several months before the Free Syrian Army facilitated his escape.
“I do not need to mention why I decided to leave the regime's grip as everyone is aware of Assad’s crimes against the Syrian people,” said Fakhouri, noting that several of his media colleagues were detained over extended periods, including some who were died under torture.
“I can confirm that most of those working in Syrian media are looking for an opportunity to escape like I did.”
Fakhouri begun his journey in the media at the state radio in 2004 before moving to become a presenter in the Syrian TV.
After he left Syria, he became known for hosting the “Trending” news bulletin at BBC Arabic until he joined Al Jazeera as a presenter and documentary maker in 2022.
Fakhouri was among many Syrian expats who returned to a nation where jubilation took over since Assad’s iron-fisted regime was toppled by a lightning 11-day rebel offensive spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group on Dec. 8.
Since the fall of Assad’s five-decade dynastic rule, harrowing accounts of torture and executions of political prisoners, activists, and regime critics in state prisons — most notably the infamous Sednaya — have emerged publicly.
Media group urges release of detained South Sudan journalist
- Emmanuel Monychol Akop, editor-in-chief of local The Dawn newspaper, has not been seen since November 28
NAIROBI: South Sudan has detained a leading journalist, an international media organization said Friday as it urged his immediate release.
News of the apparent arrest followed a warning by the United Nations which denounced arbitrary detentions, including those of opposition party members or individuals associated with them.
Emmanuel Monychol Akop, editor-in-chief of local The Dawn newspaper, has not been seen since November 28, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The international monitoring group said he had been detained by National Security Services (NSS) agents, citing his colleagues and an individual familiar with his case, who said he had been summoned to the organization’s headquarters in capital Juba.
“South Sudanese authorities must bring editor Emmanuel Monychol Akop before a court, present credible charges or release him unconditionally,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program.
She said the NSS had a “reputation for running roughshod over the rights of journalists,” adding that this detention “further tarnishes an already dismal press freedom record.”
Manager at The Dawn newspaper Moses Guot told the CPJ there were worries about Akop’s security.
“They should allow us to see him, at least to know about his health, and that would be a good start,” he said.
Akop was also detained in 2019 following a Facebook post criticizing a minister’s appearance during a diplomatic visit. He was held for a month before being released.
The arrest comes weeks after gunfire broke out at the home of a recently sacked intelligence chief, spooking many in the young country which since independence has grappled with insecurity.
In September South Sudan once again postponed the first elections in the nation’s history, pushing them back another two years.
South Sudan is one of the poorest countries on the planet despite large oil reserves and ranks 177 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index.
