Much like Churchill and Chamberlain, many others and I won’t have much to write without our policy levities. The current parliament is set to complete its term in a few weeks. It is a good time to revisit some of the events old and new, to see how they will shape our future.
Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) recently published data on the economic impact of the May 2023 Internet shutdown. Much has already been said on this. The government’s actions are still unjustifiable. They also warrant an introspection that may actually never happen.
The government still insists that the events of 9th May were actions of a handful of ‘misguided’ rioters. Oddly, it chose to swing a sledgehammer at these few loose nails by shutting down the nation’s internet access. This resulted in daily direct losses of PKR 1.3 billion to the economy besides other indirect losses. The hardest hit were small businesses, particularly IT driven ones. This shutdown also affected the lives of millions who rely on the Internet for personal and social purposes.
The government still insists that the events of 9th May were actions of a handful of ‘misguided’ rioters. Oddly, it chose to swing a sledgehammer at these few loose nails by shutting down the nation’s internet access.
We have been experiencing an Internet driven political problem for many years now. As a principle, rogue actors, online mercenaries, fake accounts leaking politically motivated audios and videos, and organized mis-information campaigns should all be quelled forcefully, but legally. Our principal policy response on 9th May was a binary choice between no control over the events, and a blanket shutdown, unfortunately.
The quintessential question for our future is; are these the only options we will always have in dealing with the Internet and social media companies? Those who called the shots on the day most likely didn’t understand the seriousness of their actions. None of them, both events and our shutdown of Internet, were acts of God but a tragedy of our own making. Today, this tragedy continues to unfold in online loan shark applications leading people to taking their own lives for petty amounts. But without the affixation of responsibility and somebody footing the bill for decisions or lack thereof, we risk all this happening again.
On the other hand, the PM recently expressed his ambition to beat India by giving more laptops in the next year. The Indian digital economy is going to be worth around $200 billion by 2025. We won’t even get to 10% of that in the same time. The Prime Minister might not be here next year, and laptops alone aren’t enough to catch up with India. He probably knows that too. But in an election year, a little political horseplay never hurts.
In a different world, the recent launch of Meta’s Threads platform has catapulted Elon Musk against Mark Zuckerberg in full public view. This may well be the end of Twitter that many saw coming after Musk took over. It will be sometime before we know the final outcome of this. But a flagging Twitter, if at all it happens, should take away Pakistan’s social media driven political problem. A whole industry has thrived on this for years. Our state and private political investors should now consider diverting attention and resources to better ideas and opportunities.
Last week, the PM Office also announced the launch of Land Information Management System (LIMS) in the support of the SIFC led initiative. Messaging around it has hallmarks of both military precision and bureaucratic finesse. Politicians from the ruling alliance have been heralding a green revolution in Pakistan. However, the sales pitches on TV and Twitter belies their understanding of the fine print and the plan.
The Indian digital economy is going to be worth around $200 billion by 2025. We won’t even get to 10% of that in the same time.
It will be prudent not to comment on LIMS or the broader intention at this stage since we have few details. But it is sincerely hoped that it will build on existing technology achievements of PITB and others rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel. The roll out of PITB’s already developed systems beyond Punjab and their increased use can be a reasonable objective to set eyes on.
On a different tangent, we chose to discard the idea of using EVM (Electronic Voting Machines) for the upcoming General Elections. Theodore Roosevelt called the vote ‘a rifle (whose) usefulness depended on the character of the user.’ We may disagree with EVMs because of our checkered political history, but the veracity of the vote should be fundamental to elections. We have the technological means, but political interest? Not necessarily. Furthermore, the Election Commission has already chosen to park the infamous RTS for another in-house system RMS for the next General Elections. How it plays out, we will know soon enough.
And lastly, three Pakistani players have recently won the Tekken Seven Nations Cup in Kuwait. Pakistanis have a respectable standing in e-sports and are also amongst the highest earners. The government’s attention here can drive multiple industries and both entrepreneurial and employment opportunities.
In these and many other events, our policy leaders have largely taken a proletarian view of IT systems and the Internet. Our responses are often disjointed and driven by motives like political selfishness, vested interests or appeasement. This is not how we will become a major IT hub and technology player in the region.
There is a fresh start coming up in the next General Elections. Maybe its time to put down our drainpipe!