Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Wednesday that his government is working to improve telecommunications services and increase Internet access in remote areas of Pakistan, with the aim of expanding IT exports and supporting the growing independent community of the country.
At a meeting of the Economic Advisory Council, the Prime Minister described the government’s efforts to improve the telecommunications infrastructure of the country and make Internet access more widely available. This movement, he said, would benefit independent workers throughout the country and boost exports.
“We are working to increase the number of exports of IT and independent workers in the country improving telecommunications services and providing internet access to remote areas,” said Prime Minister’s office (PMO).
Government’s plans to improve connectivity occur in the midst of the controversy on the restrictive Internet policies implemented last year, which caused criticism of human rights activists and opposition groups. These policies included the blockade of the social media platform X and the prohibition of virtual private networks (VPN).
In addition, the government moved to install a national firewall to regulate online content. While the government described these actions as efforts to make cyberspace more secure, they have led to slow and freelancers Internet and frustrated IT professionals.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz praised his economic team for his work to guarantee economic growth and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to boost sustainable economic development.
“The development of industry, agriculture, IT, employment generation and increased exports are among the main priorities of the government,” he said.
The participants of the meeting pointed out that the country’s economy was moving towards stability, with increasing production due to price stability. The PMO added that the participants had presented several suggestions to Sharif in different sectors.
“The prime minister ordered the relevant authorities to work with the members of the Council to formulate a comprehensive action plan with respect to the suggestions,” said the PMO.
Prime Minister Shehbaz also emphasized that his economic team would make a complete use of Pakistan’s current potential for regional trade and work to allow local industries to compete in the international market.
