Minister’s absence from roundtable sparks concern
The absence of Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq from the Digital Pakistan roundtable in Barcelona has caused discomfort to industry players.
The minister travelled from Pakistan specifically to attend the Mobile World Congress in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where the GSMA’s exclusive Digital Pakistan roundtable, titled “Whole of Government to Accelerate Digital Pakistan”, commenced without his presence.
According to sources, the organiser of the programme was first requested to delay the commencement for 15 minutes, but since there was no official communication from the ministry concerned, the programme progressed in the minister’s absence.
Expressing his annoyance, GSMA Head of Asia-Pacific Julian Gorman on his Twitter handle said, “Digital nations are built on the shoulders of industry leader’s trust, commitment and shared vision.”
“The roundtable and declaration highlight Pakistan’s potential, but the absence of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is an alarm that success is not assured,” he added.
On the occasion, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Amir Azeem Bajwa reaffirmed the commitment to addressing the profitability challenges of telecom sector.
Cellular mobile operators emphasised the need for framing a prudent policy and ensuring regulatory interventions to support the industry in Pakistan.
Universal Service Fund CEO Haaris Mahmood expressed his commitment to increasing connectivity and building infrastructure to bridge the digital divide in rural areas of Pakistan.
An agreement for promoting gender equality in Pakistan was signed between GSMA and PTA for taking concrete actions for closing the mobile gender gap in the country.
Read: ‘Digital Pakistan’: PM launches Pak-ID mobile app for CNIC
IT ministry’s version
IT ministry’s Member International Coordination Ajmal Awan said, “The statement regarding the IT ministry’s absence from the roundtable is not true”.
The IT minister was on the panel of GSMA in the ministerial programme in the morning, followed by a number of meetings between the IT ministry and officials of Bahrain, Lithuania, the UAE, CEOs of telecom firms, World Bank representatives and startup founders.
The ambassador of Pakistan to Spain and Pakistan’s consul general in Barcelona were present in some of the meetings, he said.
“I was assigned to attend the roundtable discussion as a representative of the IT ministry and was there from the beginning till the end,” he added.
The IT ministry member emphasised that the ministry was committed to working with the domestic industry and all stakeholders.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2022.
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