Monthly figures showed telecommunications, computer and information services bringing in $417 million in July and $394 million in August. The August figure was nearly 17 percent higher than the $337 million recorded in August 2025, underscoring the sector's steady month-on-month momentum.
Building on a record year
The strong start to the new fiscal year follows a record fiscal 2025-26, when Pakistan's IT exports closed at an all-time high of $4.6 billion. Freelancers contributed more than $1 billion to that total for the first time, cementing their role as a major source of foreign exchange.
The federal budget for fiscal 2026-27 extended the preferential tax regime for the IT sector and freelancers for another three years, while the State Bank has eased foreign-currency retention rules and simplified account opening for freelancers receiving payments from abroad.
Push toward tech products
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Digital Economy Forum in Urumqi on September 15, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan now wants to move beyond exporting IT services toward technology products, digital platforms and technology-driven industries.
The minister said the digital economy, anchored by the e-Pakistan programme, is one of the five pillars of the Uraan Pakistan agenda, which targets a $1 trillion economy by 2035. He also highlighted growing connectivity, with the country's digital user base passing 150 million and fibre connections rising from around 3 million to more than 5 million.
