IT is unfortunate that poverty is rising in Pakistan, with a huge chunk of the population unable to make ends meet. The media recently reported the World Bank president’s comments that “Pakistan must create up to 30 million jobs over the next decade to turn its youth bulge into an economic dividend or risk instability and outward migration”.

Creating millions of jobs is a difficult task, especially when crucial economic sectors are showing alarming signs of decline. For instance, the contribution of the large-scale manufacturing sector to GDP has fallen significantly in recent years.

Amidst all the challenges, it is encouraging to observe that Pakistan’s services exports sector is showing growth, rising 19 per cent in the first eight months of the current financial year. Freelancers in Pakistan are the engine behind the IT sector’s growing imports. According to figures released by the government, freelancers earned a record $557m in foreign exchange in the first half of the current fiscal year. This is a significant increase in foreign exchange earnings compared to the same period last year, clearly showing that freelancers are emerging as a beacon of hope and that incentivising........

© Dawn