You are here

  • Home
  • Major tech show in Dubai offers Pakistan opportunity to increase IT exports manifolds — envoy

Major tech show in Dubai offers Pakistan opportunity to increase IT exports manifolds — envoy

Major tech show in Dubai offers Pakistan opportunity to increase IT exports manifolds — envoy
Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Faisal Niaz Tirmizi poses for a photo with participants at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2024 in Dubai, UAE, on October 14, 2024. (Pakistan embassy, UAE)
Short Url

https://arab.news/5p4jv

Updated 4 min 41 sec ago
Follow

Major tech show in Dubai offers Pakistan opportunity to increase IT exports manifolds — envoy

Major tech show in Dubai offers Pakistan opportunity to increase IT exports manifolds — envoy
  • 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's ambassador encourages business leaders, IT professionals to visit the Pakistan pavilion, where 24 exhibitors are showcasing innovative technologies
Updated 4 min 41 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR
Follow

ISLAMABAD: The four-day Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2024, being held in Dubai from Oct. 14 till Oct. 18, offers Pakistan an opportunity to boost its Information Technology (IT) exports by tapping into new markets, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Faisal Niaz Tirmizi said on Monday, as he inaugurated Pakistan's pavilion at the event.

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. This year’s exhibition will run from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18.

Pakistan aims to showcase its growing capabilities in the IT sector through a contingent of 24 leading exhibitors at the event, which is being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre and offers an opportunity for companies to connect with global tech leaders, investors, and potential partners.

"It's a great opportunity for business leaders and IT experts from Pakistan to meet their counterparts from around the world to increase exports of Pakistan from $3.2 billion to manifolds," Ambassador Tirmizi said, after inaugurating the Pakistan pavilion.

He encouraged business leaders and IT professionals to visit the pavilion, where 24 exhibitors are showcasing innovative technologies and services, highlighting the substantial growth of Pakistan’s IT exports to the UAE that had risen by 34% to $265 million.

The Pakistani ambassador acknowledged collaborative efforts by the Pakistani Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in organizing and showcasing Pakistan’s IT industry at the exhibition.

“Their joint efforts have made it possible for Pakistan to present its full spectrum of capabilities at GITEX Global,” the ambassador said.

“Pakistan, with the third-largest English-speaking population and the second-largest provider of freelance IT services globally, is uniquely positioned to expand its IT exports.”

GITEX Global is known for bringing together global tech giants, governments, start-ups, and investors, offering a platform for transformative innovations. Pakistan’s involvement in the event demonstrates its commitment to advancing its digital economy and enhancing its global footprint in the tech industry.

 

Topics: GITEX 2024 Gulf Information Technology Exhibition

Indian FM’s visit to Pakistan unlikely to thaw frosty ties, experts say

Indian FM’s visit to Pakistan unlikely to thaw frosty ties, experts say
Updated 7 sec ago
Follow

Indian FM’s visit to Pakistan unlikely to thaw frosty ties, experts say

Indian FM’s visit to Pakistan unlikely to thaw frosty ties, experts say
  • Jaishankar has said he will not discuss bilateral relations during Pakistan visit
  • High-level trip may still contribute to ‘slight improvement’ to India-Pakistan ties  
Updated 7 sec ago
Sanjay Kumar

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad is unlikely to thaw frosty relations between India and Pakistan as both countries struggle with their domestic issues, experts said on Monday ahead of the first such trip by a high-level Indian official.

The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed last Friday that Jaishankar will be leading the Indian delegation to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — a 10-member trans-regional economic and security body established by China and Russia — from Oct. 15 to 16 in the Pakistani capital. 

Jaishankar has said he will not discuss bilateral relations during the visit. 

India has fought three wars with its nuclear-armed neighbor, including two over control of the disputed Kashmir region in the Himalayas.

India controls Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger Kashmiri territory that has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Both countries, which claim Kashmir in full and rule in part, further downgraded their diplomatic ties in tit-for-tat moves in 2019, after India unilaterally stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its limited constitutional autonomy. In protest, Pakistan also suspended all bilateral trade. 

“It would contribute in certain ways in thawing the relationship that has been frozen for the last 10 years and may provide an opportunity for India to construct, begin conversation with Pakistan,” Sanjay Kapoor, analyst and political editor, told Arab News. 

Yet Pakistan’s political instability and security challenges are also a drawback to potential bilateral engagements, said Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. 

“Pakistan is in such a febrile that who to talk to is a big question,” he told Arab News.

“The way political challenges are rising for the Pakistani government, they are quite substantive and there is no way in which a unified machinery exists … even if India wants to have a conversation with Pakistan and take that conversation forward.” 

Unless “something fundamental shifts” in Islamabad concerning its approach to regional security and terrorism, Pant said that India will not be “very incentivized to engage with Pakistan.”

Cross-border terrorism was a top-of-mind issue for the Indian government, said Manish Chand, president of the think tank Center for Global India Insights. 

“Pakistan has not done anything tangible, concrete” to address Delhi’s concerns over the matter, he told Arab News, adding that any dialogue with Islamabad also depended on the Indian public perception and mood, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost its absolute majority in parliament in June. 

“This government, the BJP, does not want to be seen as soft on Pakistan or cross-border terror, so they don’t want to take a political chance because that would mean that it could be they will face cracking political scrutiny,” Chand told Arab News. 

Despite the challenges, Jaishankar’s trip should still be seen as a “very positive gesture” that may lead “to a slight improvement” in bilateral relations, which “may eventually lead to some tangible move leading to reengagement at some level or revival of the dialogue process,” he said. 

But Prof. Siddiq Wahid, a Srinagar-based political analyst, said engaging with Pakistan is not a priority for the Indian government. 

“The current Indian government is hampered by itself-image of India in the world. That self-image is of a major global player. As a result it thinks that time is on its side and it does not have to deal with Islamabad,” he told Arab News.

“Meanwhile, the regional rivalry between Delhi and Islamabad continues to fester.” 

Topics: SCO 2024 India Pakistan Ties

Pakistan’s deadline to file income tax returns ends today

Pakistan’s deadline to file income tax returns ends today
Updated 15 min 22 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan’s deadline to file income tax returns ends today

Pakistan’s deadline to file income tax returns ends today
  • The Federal Board of Revenue had extended the Sept. 30 deadline by two weeks
  • Pakistan has one of the lowest tax ratios in the world, according to the World Bank
Updated 15 min 22 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The deadline for Pakistanis to file their income tax returns ends today, Monday, following the expiry of a two-week extension given by the country's tax regulator.

Pakistan has one of the lowest tax ratios in the world, according to the World Bank. The South Asian country’s failure to generate tax revenues in higher amounts stems from the fact that it has a narrow tax base, low compliance rate, an inefficient tax administration and massive tax evasion, the international financial institution has said.

Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced last month it had extended the Sept. 30 deadline for filing income tax returns to Oct. 14.

“The FBR made the decision in view of requests from various trade bodies, Tax Bar Associations and general public,” it said in a notification. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month approved a $7 billion loan for Pakistan, critical for the South Asian country to meet its external financial obligations and strengthen its national currency. One of the key demands of the IMF from Pakistan has been to improve its tax administration and broaden its tax base.

The South Asian country aims to collect an ambitious $46 billion through taxes this financial year. Authorities have identified 4.9 million taxable persons in the country by using modern technology.

In Sept., Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced the country’s tax filers this year had almost doubled from 1.6 million last year to 3.2 million. He also disclosed that last year Pakistan recorded at least 300,000 new tax filers while this year, the figure had already swelled to 723,000.

 

Topics: Federal Board of Revenue income tax returns

Seven Pakistani fishermen reunite with families after release from Indian jails

Seven Pakistani fishermen reunite with families after release from Indian jails
Updated 14 October 2024
Follow

Seven Pakistani fishermen reunite with families after release from Indian jails

Seven Pakistani fishermen reunite with families after release from Indian jails
  • Pakistani charity Edhi Foundation facilitated travel of these fishermen from Lahore to Karachi, where they were reunited with their families
  • The fishermen urged Pakistan, India to refrain from detaining impoverished fisherfolk, who are routinely detained by both maritime agencies
Updated 14 October 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Seven Pakistani fishermen reunited with their families in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday after languishing for years in Indian prisons, a Pakistani charity said.

The charity organization, Edhi Foundation, was handed over these fishermen by Pakistani authorities last Friday to facilitate their return to Karachi, according to Muhammad Ameen, an official at the Edhi Foundation.

The charity covered transportation costs for the fishermen from Lahore, where they had arrived from India, and gave each one of them Rs10,000 ($36) for household expenses upon arrival in Karachi.

Indian and Pakistani fishermen are routinely detained by both maritime agencies on charges of illegally entering each other's territorial waters. The nuclear-armed nations’ borders are not clearly defined in the Arabian Sea and many fishing boats lack the technology to steer clear of any intrusion. 

“Whether it’s Indian or Pakistani fishermen, they are all poor,” said 26-year-old Allah Bachayo, who spent nearly four years away from his family after his boat drifted into Indian waters due to a malfunction in 2020.

“If both sides can come together to release Pakistani fishermen in India and Indian fishermen here, it would be a great kindness.”

Another fisherman, Ghulam Mustafa Shah, 19, was reunited with his mother, Shehrbano Bibi, and two younger siblings after having spent nearly three years in an Indian prison.

“I begged for alms to feed my children,” Bibi told Arab News at the Edhi Foundation office in Karachi, adding that Shah was her eldest son and the family’s main breadwinner, whose imprisonment forced her to ask others for support.

“I am very happy. It is a greater occasion than Eid for me,” she said, warmly embracing her son.

Shah, who had accidentally crossed into the Indian waters along with nine other fishermen in Jan. 2022, described his prison time as "painful," recalling that his requests to speak with his family were denied multiple times.

“I missed my mother a lot,” he said. “I would cry the whole day, but no one would listen to me. I banged my head [against the walls], but no one accepted my request.”

Ameen, the Edhi Foundation official, said that another 79 Pakistani fishermen were incarcerated in India, urging authorities to make efforts for their release too.

 

Topics: Pakistani fishermen

Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test

Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test
Updated 14 October 2024
AFP
Follow

Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test

Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test
  • The hosts made four changes from the side beaten by an innings in the first Test, including bringing in Kamran Ghulam
  • The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season
Updated 14 October 2024
AFP

MULTAN: Pakistan named three spinners in their team for the second Test against England starting on Tuesday as they chase a series-levelling win on a re-used Multan stadium pitch.
The hosts made four changes from the side beaten by an innings in the first Test, including bringing in batsman Kamran Ghulam for his debut.
The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season.
The spin bowling will be handled by left-armer Noman Ali, leg-break bowler Zahid Mahmood and off-spinner Sajid Khan, all brought into the side.
Pakistan left out ace batsman Babar Azam from the first Test along with the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, and spinner Abrar Ahmed. He is still unwell.
England thumped the home team by an innings and 47 runs on Friday after the tourists compiled a mammoth 823-7 declared in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings 556.
Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood

Topics: Kamran Ghulam Pakistan-England Test series

Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year

Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year
Updated 14 October 2024
Follow

Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year

Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year
  • State media says favorable weather, “abundant” resources helped Pakistan export six million tons of rice 
  • Pakistan’s commerce minister said country aims to increase revenue from rice exports to $7 billion this year
Updated 14 October 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan generated $4 billion in revenue during financial year 2024 by exporting six million tons of different types of rice, state media reported on Monday, citing favorable weather conditions and “abundant” agricultural resources as the main reasons for the surge in exports. 

Pakistan exported rice worth $4 billion this year compared to $2.15 billion last year, benefiting largely from India’s more-than-a-year-long ban on rice exports to fulfill its domestic needs. India announced in September it was lifting the ban, prompting Pakistan to lift the minimum export price for all rice varieties in the country. 

India and Pakistan are the only two countries that produce basmati rice which is famous for its unique flavor and aroma. India has been the largest exporter of rice worldwide, followed by Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

“With the support of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, Pakistan has earned revenue of four billion dollars from rice exports,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, referring to Pakistan’s top hybrid civil-military body formed last year to attract foreign investment in the country’s vital economic sectors. 

“During the fiscal year 2024, Pakistan exported more than 6 million tons of different varieties of rice due to favorable weather conditions and abundant availability of agricultural resources.”

Shahjahan Malik, former chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, said exporters have set a fresh target of $5 billion for rice exports for the next financial year. He added that a comprehensive strategy based on “modern seed research and quality agricultural practices” would be developed to enhance exports further. 

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal had said the country aimed to boost its rice exports to as much as $7 billion to support its dwindling economy. 

Topics: Pakistan Rice Export

Latest updates

Iran says ‘no grounds’ for indirect talks with US
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad.
Riyadh mayor, South Korean officials discuss infrastructure, urban planning
Riyadh mayor, South Korean officials discuss infrastructure, urban planning
Saudi Arabia, Philippines ink first energy cooperation agreement 
Saudi Arabia, Philippines ink first energy cooperation agreement 
Closing Bell: TASI sheds points to close at 11,959, Nomu sees 1.28% rise  
Closing Bell: TASI sheds points to close at 11,959, Nomu sees 1.28% rise  
Father accused of Sara Sharif’s murder confessed to UK police, jurors told
Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London. (File/Surrey Police)

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.