Pakistan Software Export Board is hosting an exclusive free live webinar on June 5, 2026, bringing Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja directly into conversation with Pakistan’s freelancer community. The session, organised under the Tech Destination Pakistan initiative by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, gives freelancers across the country an open platform to ask questions, share what is working for them, highlight the challenges they face on a daily basis, and discuss what policy support Pakistan’s freelancing community needs to grow and compete more effectively in global digital markets. Registration is free and participants can secure their spot at https://lnkd.in/dk2PNr_H.
The webinar arrives at a significant moment for Pakistan’s freelancing sector. Freelancing export receipts have surged 49 percent year-on-year to $959 million during the first ten months of the current fiscal year, placing Pakistan on the verge of crossing the $1 billion milestone for the first time. Despite this remarkable growth trajectory, the community continues to face structural challenges including limitations on international payment receipt channels, the upcoming expiry of the 0.25 percent Final Tax Regime, high mobile phone taxes that increase the cost of the tools freelancers depend on, and gaps in skills development infrastructure that limit upward mobility beyond entry-level gig work.
By creating a direct channel between the minister and the freelancing community, PSEB is signalling that the government views freelancers not merely as a statistical category in export data but as a constituency with legitimate policy needs that require active engagement rather than top-down decisions. The format of an open live webinar allows freelancers to surface concerns that may not reach policymakers through conventional consultation channels, including issues specific to particular platforms, regions, or specialisations within the broader freelancing ecosystem.
The session builds on a series of recent policy-level engagements with the freelancing sector, including PSEB’s GAIN webinar series, which has been running expert-led sessions for IT and IT-enabled services companies, and the broader momentum generated by the PurAzm Pakistan programme and Digital Youth Hub, which are actively trying to expand the freelancing pipeline by bringing more young Pakistanis into the digital economy. As the government prepares its Budget 2026-27 positions and the expiry of the current Final Tax Regime approaches in June 2026, the timing of a direct minister-to-community conversation is particularly relevant for freelancers who want their voices heard before consequential policy decisions are finalised.
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