Uzair bin Farid

Sindh province of Pakistan has emerged as a leader in internet penetration among the rest of the provinces, with a 22.17% penetration ratio. Sindh is followed by the Punjab province, which has an internet penetration of 19.7%. Afterwards comes the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with internet penetration of 14.73% and 14.30%, respectively. According to a working paper by TabadLab, a think-tank based in Islamabad, titled “Digital Now: A Guide to Pakistan’s Digital Transformation,” the state of Pakistan’s digital ecosystem is trying at best.

Although there are some notable gains in terms of policy initiatives and tech infrastructure, globally, Pakistan ranks low among the countries with respect to digital transformation. For example, there are no special technology zones (STZs) in Sindh and Balochistan, whereas there is only one in Punjab. It is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which leads other provinces in STZs with only two operational zones. Punjab and KP have their own digital policies as well. Punjab has “Punjab Digital Policy Draft-PITB,” whereas KP has the “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Digital Policy 2018-2023.”

As for Balochistan and Sindh provinces, they do not have provincial digital policies in the first place, which indicates a lack of concern on part of provincial authorities towards the need and importance of digital technologies. Overall, on the penetration and quality of fibre connectivity, Pakistan has a score of 0.9 on a scale from 1 to 10, according to the Fibre Development Index 2020. Pakistan’s score on the Fibre Development Index is the same as Nigeria’s, which lies on the lowest rung of digital development.

Similarly, Pakistan also falls in the category of “not free” when it comes to internet freedom. It has a score of 26 (scale 0-100), which is lower than Bangladesh’s score of 43, falling in the category of “partly free.” Pakistan faces serious challenges in digital adoption. Given the rapid emergence of new technologies which crowd-out old ones, it is imperative that Pakistan initiates a comprehensive program of establishing digital infrastructure.

Although there is some progress in the field, by and large, Pakistan still fares way lower than the global average. Therefore, it is essential that Pakistan with help from its international partners like China, undertakes emergency measures to install digital infrastructure in the country. Laying down fibre cables, integrating the e-payment systems with global chains, adopting advanced computing methods, and investing in large-scale human capital development for the said purpose is highly important if Pakistan is to benefit from the emergence of frontier technologies.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk