Navigating Pakistan’s Digital Frontier

In recent years, we have witnessed the youth of Pakistan tap into the growing digital economy to connect with a global market. Amid the grim economic backdrop where job opportunities are limited, the internet has acted as a vital crutch when it comes to earning a living. For many, it has become their main source of income. Beyond this, the internet is a place for learning. Individuals who freelance in today’s gig economy also gain the ability to obtain new skills in order to make them competitive contenders for the global job market.

Considering this fact, the current atmosphere of Pakistan’s digital frontier has major implications and poses unique challenges, specifically for those who have taken the alternative path of earning via the internet over traditional jobs due to a shrinking job market. This atmosphere is widely known to be created by the recently introduced firewall system.

To clarify, a firewall is a security system meant to monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Officially, the purpose of Pakistan’s firewall is to ensure national security by preventing the spread of harmful content and curbing digital threats. However in its implementation, the firewall has coincided with reductions of up to 40% in internet speed and disruptions to popular social platforms like WhatsApp.
This new step in Pakistan’s digital security comes after already banning Twitter earlier this year. While there has been some promise by the government to work ‘tirelessly’ on the internet blocks, the Minister of State for Information Technology claims there is no plan to change this new system of ‘web management’ anytime soon.

Due to the apparent extremism of this new security system, many have even started campaigning for access to the internet to be made a fundamental right of the constitution. However, beyond the civil liberties argument of whether this new system classifies as security or censorship, a more pressing matter is what this means for our economy, and for our online workforce.

The importance of the digital economy cannot be understated. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan (2023-2024), the country’s IT industry currently generates around $2.6 billion in annual exports. Is this substantial monetary loss worth the supposed security this new system guarantees? Those who depend on this income would definitely say it is not. Online businesses and e-commerce owners are losing sales daily due to the difficulty caused in processes such as communications and transactions. Additionally, the distrust caused by the lack of government transparency may urge IT investors to take their business elsewhere.