ISLAMABAD: Pakistani information technology (IT) service providers, startups and exporters expect to generate up to $500 million investment by showcasing their tech potential at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2024, scheduled to be held in Dubai on October 14-18, industry stakeholders and officials said on Thursday.
The annual GITEX Global exhibition is considered one of the world’s largest tech shows that connects industry leaders with major tech and innovation startups as well as government officials, expert investors and corporate buyers.
Sajjad Mustafa Syed, chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), said Pakistan had been declared 2024 event’s “Tech Destination of the Year” following the participation of Pakistani IT firms in the previous GITEX editions.
“There will be representation of IT sector of 180 countries, more than 200,000 sizeable trade buyers of IT services, 65,000 top-level IT executives from world over and 7,000 multinational companies of IT and allied industries [in this month’s GITEX Global tech show],” he said in a statement.
“We are expecting to generate leads of up to $500 million for the country.”
Prominent Pakistani exhibitors and delegates that will be participating in the exhibition include Quixas Technology Pvt Ltd, Wateen Solutions, AutoSoft Dynamics, KODERLABS, Dynamics 360, Creation Next and Bits Collision, according to P@SHA Secretary-General Nadeem Malik.
Pakistan’s State Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the development highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to innovation, technology and global collaboration.
“We look forward to showcasing Pakistan’s brilliant tech talent and tremendous potential on this prestigious platform,” she was quoted as saying by P@SHA.
Muhammad Umair Nizam, senior vice chairman of P@SHA, stressed that innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusion were the keys to rapid growth in IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) industry and the Pakistani IT industry was having a number of “firsts and pluses.”
“[It is the] only major industry in Pakistan having a trade surplus and that too with a margin of 77 percent,” he said. “[The Pakistani IT industry] has the capability to earn foreign exchange to the tune of $5 billion in FY25 [Fiscal Year 2024-25].”
Nizam said the IT industry could bridge Pakistan’s overall trade deficit and stabilize the economy through exponential growth, curtailed volatility in rupee-dollar parity, building foreign exchange reserves and creating employment opportunities.
Pakistani IT firms eye up to $500 million investment at major tech show in Dubai this month
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Pakistani IT firms eye up to $500 million investment at major tech show in Dubai this month
- The annual GITEX Global exhibition is considered one of the world’s largest tech shows that connects industry leaders with major tech and innovation startups
- Pakistan declared 2024 event’s ‘Tech Destination of the Year’ after participation of Pakistani IT firms in previous GITEX editions, says industry representative
Authorities in northwestern Pakistani province allow ‘banned’ Pashtun group to hold grand council
- Founded in 2014, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement has long advocated against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and other ethnic minorities in Pakistan
- At least three people were killed in clashes between Pakistani police and PTM supporters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, two days after the federal government banned the PTM
PESHAWAR: The government in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has allowed the recently banned Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) to hold a three-day grand council of its political and tribal elders to resolve issues facing the Pashtun communities in the country’s volatile northwest and elsewhere, a KP provincial minister said on Friday.
Founded in 2014, the PTM has long advocated against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and other ethnic minorities in Pakistan, charges the government and the military deny. The group has been waging a campaign to force the military to leave the former tribal regions in the northwest that border Afghanistan.
On Monday, the Pakistani government banned the PTM and said the group supported the Pakistani Taliban. It also banned PTM rallies in the restive northwest, saying the demonstrations were against the “interests of Pakistan.” Despite the announcement of the ban, the PTM, which denies backing the Pakistani Taliban, said it would go ahead with plans to hold the Pashtun National Jirga on October 11 to discuss peace and security in KP.
A day before the PTM gathering, a separate assembly of political and tribal leaders, held under the patronage of the KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in Peshawar, threw its weight behind the CM to resolve the conflict “through dialogue and understanding,” KP government spokesperson Muhammad Ali Saif said, without mentioning how the KP government planned to deal with the PTM’s gathering.
“Peace, development and prosperity is a mutual agenda of all of us,” KP Public Health Minister Pakhtoon Yar Khan told reporters in the Khyber tribal district, where the PTM has summoned its grand jirga.
“The Pashtun National Jirga has been given permission. They will remain within the ambit of law and the constitution, participants will present the demands.”
He said the grand council in Khyber was not an individual’s, but a Pashtun assembly.
“The PTI [the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in KP] does not believe in violence, will solve the problems of Pashtuns peacefully,” Khan added.
On Wednesday, at least three people were killed in clashes between Pakistani police and supporters of the PTM rights group in Khyber’s Jamrood area, two days after the federal government banned the PTM.
In a post on X in the wee hours of Friday, the Pashtun National Jirga said the last few weeks had been “extremely challenging” for Pashtun rights activists working for the October 11 gathering.
“Tonight, Pashtuns are persevering under testing conditions,” it said on the night between Thursday and Friday. “It is a sign of our determination.”
This week, Amnesty International, a global human rights watchdog, called on the Pakistan government to revoke the ban on the PTM.
The “latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg,” Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, said on Wednesday, accusing the Pakistani authorities of “resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies.”
Saudi businesses eye opportunities with $2 billion in deals amid Pakistan’s economic upturn
- A large Saudi delegation of companies specializing in energy, mining and industry is currently in Pakistan
- Delegation says economic stability, improved regulations making Pakistan attractive investment destination
ISLAMABAD: Saudi businessmen expressed hope for successful collaborations in Pakistan on Thursday, saying the country’s economic stability and improved regulatory framework had made it an attractive investment destination, following the signing of over two dozen deals between companies from both countries.
The Kingdom’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih is currently in Pakistan on a three-day visit with a large delegation of over 130 members, including representatives from Saudi companies specializing in energy, mining, minerals, agriculture, business, tourism, industry and manpower.
The delegation on Thursday signed 27 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth more than $2 billion with several Pakistani companies.
“We saw much change in [Pakistan’s business] regulations which have become much softer,” Sultan Al Mansour, Chairman of All Care Medical Group, told Arab News, pointing out that Pakistan was gradually moving toward economic stability. “All that positive news is making Pakistan a good spot for investment.”
Last year in June, Pakistan constituted the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a hybrid civil-military forum, to facilitate foreign businesses, particularly from Gulf countries.
The Saudi investor hoped for successful collaborations, saying his company had signed two deals with Pakistani businesses developing surgical instruments and operating in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Our [Pakistani] partners will be launching a factory in Saudi Arabia in the foreseeable future,” he informed, adding the South Asian state was rich in human resources and knowledge, and constituted a big market.
Al Mansour said he had collaborated with Hilbro, a Pakistani company that will supply surgical goods to his organization in the kingdom.
Hilbro’s sales and marketing director, Muhammad Bilal Tariq, said his company would initially supply semi-developed products before setting up a manufacturing unit of surgical goods in Saudi Arabia.
“We are planning to build the factory in Riyadh,” he told Arab News.
Mohammad Almadani, Chief Executive Officer of Classera, one of the region’s largest e-learning ed-tech companies operating in over 40 countries, said his organization had supported numerous ministries of education, training institutions and governments globally to transform education and training.
“We have started a big project called eTaleem which aims to transform education using technology across this great nation [of Pakistan],” he said.
He informed that the first phase of operations had already started by partnering with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL), adding it would use technology to transform education more rapidly and benefit the country’s youth.
“We are talking about 60 million students of Pakistan,” he said.
Almadani noted that human capital was a huge asset, pointing out his collaboration in Pakistan would help advance the country.
Mohammad Al-Hijji, Chairman of the Saudi investment company Engineering Dimension Holding, said it was a good time to join hands with Pakistani businesses due to the government’s investment-friendly policies.
“It is the right time and we are talking about the investment in our partnership with our brethren at Pakistani renewable energy company Welt Konnect, to invest in a 500-megawatt hybrid power project,” he told Arab News.
His Pakistani partner, Habeel Ahmed Khan, termed the collaboration a “great honor.”
“We signed an MoU with our brothers from ED Holding for the 500-megawatt project that we have been developing in the south of Pakistan, almost 45 minutes east of Karachi in the wind corridor of Gharo,” he said.
Sharing details, he said the project would produce about 168 megawatts of wind power and 332 megawatts of solar power.
“It’s going to be one of Pakistan’s first hybrid power projects, which will supply cheap electricity to the national grid,” Khan added.
Ghassan Amodi, Chief Executive Officer of Asyad Holding Group, which is acquiring Shell operations in Pakistan, said the acquisition was part of their strategic plan to expand regionally.
“Our association with Shell is a longstanding relationship, and we look forward to further developing this beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia and now Pakistan. We are also looking for other opportunities,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News, Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik said over 130 representatives of around 50 Saudi companies were part of the delegation, adding that many projects and collaborations had been finalized in the energy field during the visit.
“Two Saudi companies have flown into Pakistan, and they will be talking about the upgradation of an old refinery, which is about a billion-and-a-half-dollar project,” he said while informing that Pakistan also expected to finish the study on the greenfield refinery project by December.
“Then the conversation will begin to move forward on the $7-10 billion project,” he continued.
Malik informed that once the Saudi delegation departs, the government would follow up on an almost weekly or fortnightly basis.
“It will be to see where those contracts are, how those relationships are evolving and if there’s any government-related trouble that we need to troubleshoot and remove,” he explained.
Gunmen kill 20 miners and wound others in an attack in southwest Pakistan
- It’s the latest attack in restive Balochistan province and comes days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital
- Police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said the gunmen stormed the accommodations at the coal mine in Duki district late Thursday
QUETTA: Gunmen killed 20 miners and wounded another seven in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said Friday.
It’s the latest attack in restive Balochistan province and comes days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital.
Police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said the gunmen stormed the accommodations at the coal mine in Duki district late Thursday night, rounded up the men and opened fire.
Most of the men were from Pashtun-speaking areas of Balochistan. Three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan.
Nobody claimed immediate responsibility for the attack.
The province is home to separatist groups who want independence. They accuse the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan at the expense of locals.
On Monday, a group called the Baloch Liberation Army said it carried out an attack on Chinese nationals outside Pakistan’s biggest airport. There are thousands of Chinese working in the country, most of them involved in Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.
The explosion, which the BLA said was the work of a suicide bomber, also raised questions about the ability of Pakistani forces to protect high-profile events or foreigners in the country.
Islamabad is hosting a summit next week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a grouping founded by China and Russia to counter Western alliances.
Efforts at reconciliation in northwest Pakistan after clashes at gathering by ‘banned’ Pashtun group
Efforts at reconciliation in northwest Pakistan after clashes at gathering by ‘banned’ Pashtun group
- Thursday’s jirga was called by KP CM Gandapur, with archrivals Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi in attendance
- At least three people were killed in clashes Wednesday between Pakistani police and supporters of the recently banned PTM civil rights group
PESHAWAR: A grand assembly of political and tribal leaders held on Thursday in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar designated the provincial chief minister to resolve peace-related issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ahead of a three-day gathering being organized by the recently banned Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
At least three people were killed in clashes Wednesday between Pakistani police and supporters of the PTM rights group advocating for ethnic Pashtuns. The violence came after the government on Monday banned the PTM saying it supports the Pakistani Taliban, an outlawed militant group. It also banned rallies by the group in the restive northwest, saying the demonstrations are against the interests of Pakistan. The PTM denies backing the Pakistani Taliban and says despite the ban on public gatherings, it will go ahead with holding a Qaumi Jirga grand assembly on October 11 to discuss peace and security in KP province.
Thursday’s jirga, a traditional assembly in Pashtun communities used to resolve disputes and make decisions on social and political matters, was called by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, with archrivals Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also in attendance.
The PTM, founded in 2014, has long advocated against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and other ethnic minorities in Pakistan, charges the government and military deny. The group has since been waging a campaign to force the military to leave the former tribal regions in the northwest that border Afghanistan.
“The purpose of the jirga is to find a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue and mutual understanding,” Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP government spokesperson, said in a statement about Thursday’s gathering. “The jirga has given Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur full authority to resolve the conflict through dialogue and understanding.”
The statement did not mention how the KP government plans to deal with the PTM’s Qaumi Jirga, but Mohsin Dawar, a former lawmaker from North Waziristan who was previously affiliated with the PTM, said authorities had agreed to allow the gathering.
“Participated in the meeting called by the Chief Minister on PTM’s Pashtuns National Jarga,” he said in a social media post. “We demanded from all the political parties in the meeting to allow PTM’s Jirga to be held. Our demand has been accepted and the federal and provincial govts will allow the Jarga tomorrow.”
Amnesty International on Wednesday called on the Pakistan government to revoke the ban on the Pashtun group.
The “latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, accusing the authorities of “resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies.”
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s northwest
- Militants were killed in two separate operations carried out in Bannu and North Waziristan
- Weapons and ammunition were recovered from militants who were involved in several crimes
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed four militants in two separate operations in the country’s northwest, according to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), on Thursday.
The country has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since a fragile ceasefire broke down between the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government in November 2022.
Pakistan has frequently said the TTP leadership is based in Afghanistan and gets assistance from the administration in Kabul, though Afghan authorities deny the claim.
“On 9-10 October 2024, four Khwarij [TTP militants] were killed in two separate operations conducted by Security Forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the ISPR said.
On October 9, an intelligence-based operation was carried out in the general area of Janikhel in Bannu district in which two militants were killed.
In another operation, conducted in the general area Hassan Khel in North Waziristan on October 10, Pakistani troops effectively engaged a militant hideout and in ensuing exchange of fire two more militants lost their lives.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as abductions and target killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR added.
It said the “sanitization of the area” was being carried out to eliminate any other militant found in the territory.
