Freelancers fear losing foreign clients amid firewall-led internet disruptions

KARACHI: Pakistani freelancers have expressed concerns that their clients might choose to outsource projects to other countries due to the slowdown and disruption of internet services caused by the imposition of a national firewall.

Pakistan is the fourth-largest country with the largest freelancing community, with an estimated 2.5 million freelancers. According to claims in the local media, the government is installing an internet firewall to control and monitor social media sites and content. The use of the firewall for censorship is denied by the government.

According to officials in the IT sector, the country’s economy could suffer losses of up to $300 million due to internet interruptions. Tufail Ahmed Khan, president and CEO of the Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA), stated in a written response to The News that freelancers across the country have been encountering challenges due to slow internet speeds.

From workers in content development, graphic designing, coding and digital marketing and from vloggers to YouTubers, all gig workers have been facing difficulties, whether it is browsing for research or downloading/uploading content, with no clear solution for getting the internet at normal speed, he said.

“They are neither able to meet the deadline of their foreign clients nor are they getting new orders from freelancing and social media platforms, resulting in a loss of income and clients and a dip in the inflows of foreign exchange for the country,” Khan said.

“If their projects are not completed and delivered on time, their clients are also affected worldwide,” Khan said and added that this prolonged issue does not affect the freelance community temporarily, but it will damage the overall reputation of Pakistani freelancers across the world. He added that it will take a long time to regain the confidence of foreign clients.

“Clients might opt for other nationals for outsourcing different projects such as Indians, Bangladeshis, and Filipinos,” Khan said.IT companies in Pakistan are having a challenging time due to the slowdown and disruption of internet services. Companies working on a hybrid model are particularly facing inconvenience as remote staff members are unable to perform their tasks duly and timely, said Saad Shah, an IT exporter.

In June, Pakistan’s IT exports were $298 million, a 33 per cent increase over a year earlier. IT exports totalled $3.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June, a 24 per cent increase from $2.5 billion in the fiscal year 2023.

The CEO of Hexalyze stated that he faced multiple incidences of lack of connectivity during online meetings with foreign clients recently, which did not give a positive signal to them about Pakistan’s market.

IT exporters have to meet project deadlines, but the present situation has made it impossible for many companies to accomplish their projects despite working extra hours because of connectivity issues, he said. The issues should be resolved immediately as alternate arrangements such as VPN are not very useful in every case, he added.

IT is one of the high-performing sectors in the economy, having the potential to shore up macroeconomic indicators and create jobs for the unemployed youth. Hence, it should be facilitated rather than disrupted, he remarked.