Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board and National Business Group Pakistan, the President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain has termed the slow internet a serious threat to the IT industry and online businesses besides hurting the masses. The IT industry's and online businesses' future was at stake due to the government's efforts to control the internet, according to the general perception. In a statement issued here on Monday, Mian Zahid Hussain said that many businesses were affected and freelancers were losing their source of income. He said that controlling the digital terrorist group's misuse of social media was very important as the gang's activities were creating uncertainty and ruining the economy. However, the policy of playing with millions of people's businesses to control the gang was wrong, he remarked. The business leader said that companies doing business online were fleeing the country in large numbers, and Pakistan's reputation was also at stake.

He said that many other countries have also controlled the internet, but in Pakistan, those who do so were incompetent and sink the economy. Mian Zahid Hussain said that after the shocking revelation that Pakistanis invested eleven billion dollars in Dubai's property market, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce has said that 3968 Pakistani companies have registered in Dubai in the last six months. In 2023, 8036 Pakistani companies were registered in Dubai, which was 71.2% more than in 2022, which means that capital is rapidly fleeing the country. Mian Zahid Hussain said that Dubai was the favourite destination of Pakistani software companies. There, electricity was cheap, the business environment was favourable, the payment system was better and contracts were enforced. Foreign companies only like to deal with Pakistani companies registered in Dubai because the situation in Pakistan was uncertain, and doing business with Pakistani companies registered in Dubai provides a sense of security.

Representatives of foreign companies don’t like to come to Pakistan, but they were always ready to travel to Dubai for business. Pakistan's payment system was also very weak, while there was no such weakness in Dubai. Corporate tax was only 9% on profits above 375,000 dirhams, while there was no tax on profits below 375,000 dirhams. The tax rate in Dubai was negligible compared to the facilities. Dubai does not have complex formalities, unnecessary documentation, and tedious laws like Pakistan. It does not have a culture of setting goals and making loud claims based on baseless assumptions. Mian Zahid further said that instead of giving better incentives to companies doing business in Pakistan, they were strangled. Such policies should be avoided, as they will deprive Pakistan of its talent and income, and the plan of increasing IT exports to 10 billion dollars in two years will remain a dream. He noted that this vital sector has the potential to change the destiny of this country, but if neglected, it will go down like all other sectors of the economy.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan