MNCs planning to leave Pakistan amid internet disruptions: PBC

‘Disruptions causing losses worth $300 million’

The PBC's statement on X.

THE country’s largest corporate advocacy platform, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC), has announced via X that most multinational corporations (MNCs) are either planning to leave Pakistan or have already done so. This announcement came during an internet outage caused by the testing of a firewall by Pakistani cybersecurity agencies.

 “While we struggle with the cost of idle capacity in power generation leading to unemployment and tax revenue, we now have to contend with the threat of idle capacity in the emerging software sector due to poor execution of a firewall,” a statement issued by PBC said.

The Council was of the opinion that if integrated successfully and effectively the firewall would not have caused internet services to come to a halt in the country. The firewall trials could have been carried out in a way where they would not have affected the livelihood of thousands of freelance software developers and avoided damage to Pakistan’s credibility as a reliable supplier of IT and IT-enabled services.

The firewall, which is being installed to “save the country from digital terrorism” has halted the internet supply across the country. “There are many MNCs planning to relocate their back offices and some have already done so,” the post said. The PBC also urged the government to “get the right firewall or learn to apply it without creating unnecessary impact on employment and exports.”

The country’s IT sector is currently one of the fastest-growing industries as exports worth $298 million were recorded in June alone, up 33 per cent from the previous year. “Warning signs are flashing before our eyes as analysts warn the disruptions could cause the economy to lose up to $300 million,” said the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The OICCI also said that frequent internet disruptions could ‘derail’ Pakistan’s economy.