ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hus­sain Chaudhry said yesterday that indiscriminate account­ability for corrupt elements was topmost priority of PTI government.

Speaking in a Radio Pakistan’s current affair programme, he said PTI government had changed overall narrative of corrup­tion and launched campaign against political bigwigs in­volved in corruption. Fawad Chaudhry said the govern­ment was facilitating the entrepreneurs to increase exports and decrease the dependency on imports.

IT INDUSTRY PROGRESSING RAPIDLY: MINISTER

Minister for Information Technology and Telecommu­nication Syed Aminul Haque Wednesday said Pakistan’s IT industry was progress­ing rapidly and every pos­sible step was being taken to facilitate it. The minister expressed these views while addressing IT Export Awards 2019 ceremony organised by Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), the attached department of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication. Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Shoaib Ahmad Siddique and PSEB management were also present on the occasion.

Syed Aminul Haque said that the role of information technology and telecommu­nications in the development and economic growth of Pak­istan is vital and the govern­ment is keenly interested in working closely with Islam­abad Capital Territory sector. “We are implementing the policies and measures that will effectively energize both exports and domestic tech­nology adoption”, he added.

The minister said his Min­istry is focusing on training of talented youth on the lat­est technologies and mak­ing them a productive part of our economy.

He said IT industry is growing at a phenomenal rate, earning valuable for­eign exchange for the coun­try, creating high paying jobs, improving the nation’s productivity and quality of life in general through inno­vative technology solutions. 

He said it was encourag­ing that Fiscal Year 2019-20 (July 2019 to June 2020) has been a great year for IT and ITeS Export remittances and that a record US $ 1.231 bil­lion has been recorded in IT and ITeS export remittances at a growth rate of 23.71 per cent as compared to the FY 2018-19.

“We are setting a target of US $ 5 billion in IT export remittance by FY2023, and will provide all the neces­sary support to achieve this target”, he said. Syed Ami­nul Haque said Pakistan’s IT industry has reached an important milestone in its journey and has positioned itself to become one of the leading countries in the software and outsourcing services market.

He said IT industry can become one of the largest industries, adding, “our na­tional exchequer is increas­ing due to IT exports.” He said IT exports saw a record increase despite Covid-19. The Federal Minister lauded PSEB, Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) and the entire IT industry.

About IT parks, Syed Amin Ul Haque said work is underway on IT Park in Islamabad and its ground­breaking would be done at the end of this year.

He said IT Park in Gilgit would be inaugurated soon as work was also underway on IT Park in Karachi, he add­ed. He said all issues of the IT sector would be resolved. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom­munication and Pakistan Software Export Board are making all possible efforts to facilitate the IT Industry. “My doors are open for viable suggestions for improving IT Industry growth.”

The Minister also congrat­ulated export award winners and thanked them for their efforts towards boosting much needed export earn­ings of Pakistan, for their valuable investment in the country, and for generating professional employment op­portunities for our youth.