PBC warns multinational companies’ exit amid internet disruptions

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) warned that several multinational companies are planning to relocate their back offices from Pakistan, with many having already done so recently.

“Many MNCs are planning to relocate their back offices and some have already done so. It is not too late. We should go back and get the right firewall or learn to apply it without creating an unnecessary impact on employment and exports,” PBC said in a statement. 

A recent report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce showed that 3,968 Pakistani companies registered in Dubai between January and June 2024 — making Pakistan the second-ranked country on the list. This mass exodus of multinational companies from Pakistan reflects a lack of confidence in the government’s policies towards the ease of business.

“While we struggle with the costs of idle capacity in power generation leading to unemployment and loss of exports 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,” PBC said.

Recently, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) expressed serious concern over the recent internet sluggish, warning that these disruptions could cost Pakistan’s economy up to $300 million. Fiverr, an online marketplace, has also made several Pakistani freelancers’ accounts ‘unavailable’.

Pakistan Business Council (PBC) urged to government that even if a firewall is necessary for security, trials could have saved the livelihoods of thousands of freelance software developers and avoided damage to Pakistan’s credibility as a reliable supplier of IT/IT-enabled services.

“It is not too late,” the PBC said to the authorities, adding that go back and get the right firewall or learn to apply it without creating an unnecessary impact on employment and exports.