Is Pakistan ready for the Digital Revolution?

 The phrase ‘digital revolution’ implies the infusion of technology into different aspects of life. To put it simply, by the ‘digital revolution in Pakistan’ or ‘digitalization of Pakistan’, we mean ‘a commonplace use of technology in day-to-day affairs by all and sundry in Pakistan’.

 

The subject of ‘digital Pakistan’ became the talk of the town when the PTI government had embarked on the journey of digitalizing Pakistan under ‘Digital Pakistan Vision’ in December 2019. All the segments of the country have shown great enthusiasm over the initiative. The governments in the past never took any practical steps to digitalize Pakistan. However, the present government seems to be very clear in its vision and have an understanding of the hidden potentials associated with the full-scale infusion of technology in the country.

 

Developing world is moving rapidly towards digital revolution in almost every field of life. With the advancement in computing power, mobile technologies and internet facilities more and more people have become the members of a digital worlds. From buying goods online to e-payments digital marketing has facilitated humans in various ways. Digitalization has also created number of job opportunities for the jobless youngsters in the form of earning on social sites. In the field of education world is moving from textual literacy to digital literacy helping education by providing digital technologies. Digital libraries and digital information are becoming a great support for students of higher education. Digital revolution is also empowering women, providing online job opportunities and online education. Digital space of social media has become a great source of highlighting issues of marginalized class. Digitalization of health is improving health sector all over the world with the help of e-health technologies. Digitization has not only helped individuals but also governments in terms of e-governance or digital governance all around the world. Digitization has also been pivotal in terms of security, crime control, revenue collection, formalization of data and various other functions. Pakistan also has great potential to solve number of issues by using digital technologies but it still has to overcome number hurdles to become a digital society.

 

First of all, digitalization can overcome the economic woes of Pakistan. One of the main cause of Pakistan’s weak economic growth that its industries are not well-equipped with modern technology. Digitalization of industrial sector can work as oxygen for Pakistan’s moribund economy. Use of digital technologies can reduce the several expenditures of an industrial sector. Use of accounting software, maintenance of computerized record, internet, automation, cloud computing, artificial intelligence can increase productivity and efficiency of industrial sector.
Another main set back to Pakistan’s poor economy is informal economy. Around 50% of Pakistan’s economy is undocumented which causes heavy loss to revenue. Most of the taxpayers prefer using traditional method of cash payment which goes undocumented. Transactions through e-banking and digital payment or e-payment can easily be documented. It can bring a large number of tax payers into tax net. Digitalized identity cards would allow government sector to gather information about potential taxpayers. In absence of strong taxation system Pakistan cannot get out of quagmire of foreign loans.
Pakistan’s economy can also be strengthened by creating more and more e- commerce opportunities. Digital technologies and digital space have become sources of buying and selling all around the world. By providing easy mobile payment system government can increase the number of online buyers and sellers to enhance business activities. With increasing online business activities government can generate large revenue.
Digital technologies can also promote Pakistan’s agriculture sector. Mobile Agriculture Information Portal can help agriculturists to get informed about price, horticultural diseases with remedial actions, water quality, weather updates and supply/demand data from agricultural commodity markets. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can help monitor the environment to plan sustainable agriculture products. E- Agriculture scheme can beeffective regarding empowerment of poor farmers and agriculturists.
Pakistan’s administrative system is still chained in age-old colonial legacy. Country’s bureaucracy is pro-power instead of pro-people. People have to travel long distances and wait for hours in long queues just to get documents such as domicile, driving license. E- Governance system can overcome this issue. By digital documentation people can get their documents online. Secondly, Pakistan’s bureaucracy is notorious for corruption. Implementation of e-procurement can be helpful for transparency and accountability. Establishment of G-Cloud can integrate government database and can get rid of paper and files which cause billions of rupees expenditure.
Pakistan is unfortunately among countries having less investment in education. Government schools are in poor condition without proper furniture and buildings. Digitalization of government education can allow poor students to learn at home. Digital education would also have less cost for government as compared traditional education. Digitalization of higher education can offer opportunities to students living in remote areas. Internet facilities give access to high quality research papers. A large number of online digital libraries provide PDF books on almost every subject. Government can also improve its number of university graduates by offering online courses and certificates. Digitalization of education can open new paths of development for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s progress can also be achieved by empowering women. Women make around 60% of Pakistan’s population. Unfortunately women have less participation in economic activities and making her dependent on men. Provision of access to digital technologies will help reduce inequalities and support gender equality. With access to internet women from rural areas can sell their handicraft and embroidery online. Pakistan’s conservative mind set does not allow girls to have higher education. Young girls can have education facilities through online learning.
With the help of E-health technology Pakistan can improve its health sector. Promotion of telemedicine can facilitate people living in far flung areas, especially in case of emergency. Building of online network of doctors and qualified specialists can benefit people in terms of easy appointments. Digitization and automation of patient’s record can facilitate patient and doctor both.

 

Currently, Pakistan is facing many social, political, and economic challenges that can potentially hamper Pakistan’s move towards digitalization. A large chunk of the population, circa 42%, is illiterate. Pakistan’s youth literacy rate is 71%, which means 29% of youth is illiterate. For such people, using Information and Communication Technology would be a daunting challenge. Moreover, the gap between material and non-material culture is widening with every passing day in Pakistan. It is a common observation that the people belonging to the old generation are unwilling to accept any innovation. They are usually content with their old life-style. Thus, even if the technology is made available to them, they would not be receptive to it.

As per the latest poverty estimates, 24% of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line; including 31% in rural areas and 13% in urban areas. Owing to poverty, most of the Pakistani population is unable to buy technological gadgets including smartphones, laptops, or internet facilities. In presence of such social constraints, technology, and digitalization in Pakistan would not bear the desired fruits. 

One of the major hurdles which Pakistan is facing in order to become a digital country is illiteracy. According to a report Pakistan has 160 million mobile phone subscribers 70 million active internet users and 60 million Smartphone users. Unfortunately only 10 percent of people can search or type on an English keyboard. Most of the people cannot even read message on mobile phone. For them mobile phone is to receive or make a call. People in rural areas can read or type in local language but there is dearth of content in local languages. In this scenario usage of internet is a luxury for limited number of people who can enjoy the fruits of digital world of internet.

For the dream of digitalized Pakistan to be materialized, the spread and availability of technological and digital knowledge is a mandatory precondition. Whereas, the government has allocated a mere 2.3%  to the education sector in the fiscal year 2019-20,  in terms of GDP. With such meager economic resources and budget allocation, digital and technological knowledge and skills cannot be imparted or made available to the masses. Under such economic constraints, indeed the viability of digitalization becomes dubious.

As of March 2020, the public debt of Pakistan is estimated to be about ₨42.8 trillion/US$256 billion which is 98.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan.  When IMF or World Bank provides loans to any country, they also impose certain conditions on the borrower state. These conditions are called the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs), under which the borrower is inhibited to a great extent from public spending. Thus, the state has to roll back most of the social welfare programs. Therefore, being indebted to the IMF, Pakistan might be unable (or restricted) to organize widespread digital training programs for the public.
Majority of those who enjoy this benefits of internet do not know the real worth of it. With the increasing number of android cell phone buyers, usage of internet has rapidly increased among younger generation of Pakistan. Due to lack of awareness in youth, this facility of internet is being misused. A large number of people use internet just to get entertained. Majority of people buy android mobile for the sake of using Facebook and Whatsapp. Teenagers on other hand have been getting addicted to applications such as PUBG and Tiktok. This new generation of clip- culture is largely aloof from positive aspects of internet.

For those who want to get benefit from internet such as online education, e- payment, e-commerce cannot make most of it due to cybercrimes and insecurity. Most of the people feel that those who offer online degrees might be fraud and these degrees could be fake. Number of women avoid online shopping because of mistrust on online-traders as number of people have been cheated by online service providers. Most of the people also avoid having credit card or making e-payment due to the fear of hackers and frauds. With the poor cyber-crime laws number of online frauds have been increasing which is baring Pakistan to become a digital society.

Apart from Smart phones, a large number of people in Pakistan use internet on personal computers and laptops. Most of the offices and shops are connected to the world through desktop computers. But the main issue which users of desktop computers face is that of inconsistent power supply. With the long hours of load shedding most of the businesses work in isolation. Due to non-connectivity with world development of e-service, e-business, and other internet related activities will remain a pipe dream.
Another issue due which Pakistan lags behind in digital participation is lack of technical skills. Due to poor education system and lack of computer education in government schools, a large number of students do not get opportunity to use computer properly. This deficiency could be tackled by technical institutes which offer computer training, but unfortunately due to dearth of technical institutes a large number of population remains unskilled. Resultantly people with lack of technical computer skills get disconnected from world and rely on tradition method of business.
Furthermore, the key reason behind failure of digitalization in Pakistan is its poor digital infrastructure. Digital infrastructure includes high internet speed, fixed broad band, internet cables, mobile telecommunication and data centers. Pakistan has 8 under sea internet cables which is very low in number as compared to that of 17 in India and 23 in Singapore. Pakistan’s fixed broad band service provider Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has slow internet speed which results in constant disconnections. By year 2020 Pakistan had to introduce high speed 5G mobile internet service which is still underway. In absence to developed digital infrastructure Pakistan cannot achieve the dream of becoming a digital country.
This poor condition of digital infrastructure is mainly due to financial deficits of the country. Poor revenue generation, mismanagement of funds, misuse of budgets are main reasons due to which Pakistan faces financial deficit. Due to these reasons the earlier established Digital Visions and Information Technology (IT) policies remained incomplete. Little increase in budget and investment in IT industry can give fruitful results. Unfortunately digitalization of the system is not on top priority of government.
Development of digital infrastructure demands investment in Information and Technology. Failure of digital vision of Pakistan is also due to the reason that the country has failed to attract significant foreign investment. This is due to terrorism, poor law and order condition, devaluation of currency and many other reasons. Secondly Pakistan can encourage private sector to invest in IT. The issue with the private sector is that it hesitates to invest due to high tax rates. Without investment development of digital infrastructure would be almost impossible.

The tenure of 5-years for any democratic government in Pakistan discourages the government from initiating long-term programs. The goals that would take years in bringing results usually remain neglected. Similarly, the digitalization of Pakistan will be a time-taking process. Thus, the government might pay heed to only those projects on a priority basis that would be completed within their tenure and that would ultimately win the accolade. Although, the PTI government has embarked on the journey to digitalize Pakistan, yet, it cannot be assured that the project would be pursued with the required political will and determination. Even if the government remains honest with the project, it cannot be guaranteed that the next government would pursue the program with the required zeal and zest.

All these problems which hinder the digital progress of Pakistan, can be addressed by taking short term and long term measures. First of all improvement of literacy rate cannot be achieved immediately. It will take time for people to learn English language and use digital technologies in English. In that case government can develop local content. A large number of people in rural areas, having primary education, can read in local languages. In this regard Iran’s example can be taken where majority of population is unfamiliar with English. Iran’s application Bazar in Persian language gave access to large number of people for online shopping. Creation of local content in Pakistan will give access digital world to a large number of people. They would be able to search on internet, use mobile applications, send e-payments and many more benefits.
Second, internet sensation is increasing in Pakistan’s youth but it is mainly used for entertainment purpose rather than for some creative work. Media can play a vital by creating awareness among youth and children. In this regard it is also responsibility of parents to have check on children. Parents can provide them educational videos from You Tube along with interactive learning applications on mobile phone. Government can also play important role to divert youth towards positive use of internet. It can provide creative applications to students which can help them in their studies. Misuse of digital technologies will never lead Pakistan towards digital revolution.
Third, Pakistan lacks technical skills, mandatory for digital progress. First of all, in order to solve IT related issues, Pakistan needs a large number of Information Technology experts, for which Pakistan needs a large number of IT colleges. In this regard only few private colleges and universities are offering IT courses with expensive fee structure. Secondly, Pakistan also needs skill building at gross root level. For this purpose, computer education in schools should be made compulsory. Furthermore, creation of technical institutes for computer literacy would provide technical skills to youth. These skills can help them in digital participation. Creation of new IT colleges with low fees would increase the number of IT students. Without technical skills it would take decades for Pakistan to become a digital country.
Four, Pakistan also needs to increase cyber security to promote digital participation. Criminal acts of hacking of information, online frauds discourage the process of digital participation. In order to provide security to people who make online transactions government not only needs to strengthen the cybercrime wing but also provide easy access to cybercrime wing to victims of cybercrimes. By bringing cyber criminals to the books, government can restore the confidence of people and it will increase the number of digital participants.
In order to promote e-commerce in Pakistan government needs to develop easy e-payment facilities for people across the country. At the moment local payments methods such as Easy Paisa & Jazz Cash services are available. Despite that, most of the online buyers prefer cash at delivery. Government needs to introduce PayPal, worldwide online payment system, which would enhance the e- commerce activities.
Promotion of e-commerce would not only enhance the business activities but also be beneficial for revenue collection. Most of the online buyers prefer cash-at- delivery method. This cash payment method affects revenue collection, as cash transaction go undocumented. Pakistan can learn from India. India has introduced Aadhaar identity number, interlinked the identity system with bank accounts and mobile numbers. Today, 99% of Indian adults have an Aadhaar identity number. Digitalized identity cards e-payments would solve the problem of informal economy. Digitalization of commerce, of course, means the attainment of higher tax revenues.
Finally, government needs to overcome the problem of poor digital infrastructure. In this regard government needs foreign investment. To attract large foreign investment government needs to overcome the issues of law and order and terrorism. Secondly government can also have partnership with private sector. High tax rates, which discourage private sector to invest, should be reduced. Progress in digital infrastructure would lead towards digital revolution.

Pakistan will get enhanced internet connectivity and upgraded technology under the CPEC project. Here, I am quoting South AsiaInvestor Review

‘Digital Silk Road’ project is one of 12 sub-themes agreed to at the recently concluded Belt Road Forum 2019 (BRF19) in Beijing. This state-of-the-art information superhighway will involve laying fiber optic cables in Pakistan which will connect with China in the north and link with Africa and the Arab World via undersea cable to be laid from Gwadar Deep Sea Port built as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The global project will include 5G wireless network deployment in BRI (Belt Road Initiative) member nations.

This extensive network of fiber optic cables will make the internet available to far-flung areas that had been kept deprived of cellular networks and internet facilities. This fact corroborates the argument that Pakistan is not only ready but also moving towards the digital revolution.

Another argument in favor of the digital revolution is that the required political will is there. The government took this initiative and is very persistent in pursuing the project. The introduction of e-governance on the part of government throws into sharp relief that the current government comprehends and encourages the need and utilization of innovative technologies. With such a proactive political setup, one can say that Pakistan is moving towards the digital revolution.

According to a Report “In Pakistan, 64 percent of the population is younger than 30 and 29 percent are between 15 and 29”. Pakistan has a large chunk of youngsters. It is true that youngsters are receptive to technological innovations and are very much disposed to learning about Information and Communication Technology. Pakistani youngsters are the hope that would break the chains of poverty with the help of digital technology.

Pakistan’s economic conditions are improving. According to the World Bank’s report, 

“Pakistan has been named one of the top 10 countries that have done the most in the past year to improve the ease of doing business, an annual World Bank report says.

It improved in five of 10 areas that the World Bank monitors. It was credited for making starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, paying taxes, trading across borders easier, said the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report, published on October 23.

Thus, Pakistan climbed 28 notches from last year to the 108th spot among 190 economies in 10 areas of business activities.”

Improving business is akin to improving the economy, and once the economy is improved, poverty would be eliminated. People would be more exposed to Information and Communication Technology in Pakistan. So again ‘yes’, Pakistan is ready for a technological revolution.

To conclude, digitalization is the need of the hour for Pakistan. It can solve number of problems which the country is facing. Digital technologies can bring revolution in the fields from education to health and economics to governance. It is necessary to overcome the hurdles which hinder the digital progress of Pakistan. Positive use of digital technology will pave the way for development of Pakistan.