The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) says Pakistan’s call centre and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector generated $101.315 million in foreign exchange earnings in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27), up 23.6 percent from $81.974 million in the same period last year, according to a post on PSEB’s LinkedIn page. The board said the growth reflects the contribution of legitimate businesses that serve international clients, create skilled jobs, and increase Pakistan’s presence in the global market for IT-enabled services. It added that more than 1,000 call centres are registered with PSEB and that the sector continues to generate export value, create jobs, and contribute to the digital economy.
PSEB used the announcement to make a distinction between the registered industry and illegal operations. It said that illegal operations engaged in fraud should not be confused with Pakistan’s legitimate BPO and call centre industry, and that the country has a growing group of registered businesses delivering professional services to clients around the world. According to the board, PSEB-registered call centres operate within a formal framework that includes business verification, registration requirements, Internet Protocol (IP) whitelisting, and inspection. It said this framework helps legitimate firms build trusted relationships with foreign clients and bring export earnings back to Pakistan, and that as the sector grows, the focus must be on legitimacy, compliance, quality, and trust.
The statement follows a year in which fraudulent call centres drew heavy attention. The federal government formed a multi-agency task force in February 2026 to act against illegal call centres and online fraud, and the Interior Ministry said it had taken action against 54 illegal call centres and software houses and recovered more than Rs1.4 billion from 537 accused people, including foreigners, according to Wealth Pakistan. Editorials in Dawn’s sister press and other newspapers have since questioned how well registered call centres are monitored, and have pointed to gaps in regulation. PSEB’s emphasis on inspection and IP whitelisting responds to that concern, since whitelisting registers the internet addresses used by a call centre so that its voice traffic is recognised as legitimate and is not blocked in the campaign against grey telephony.
The sector has been growing for several years. Pakistan’s call centres earned more than $328 million in FY25, according to reports based on PSEB data, with nearly 90 percent of the industry serving overseas clients and the rest working for multinationals and utilities in Pakistan. Industry leaders have said they support removing illegal entities while arguing that most IT and BPO companies operate lawfully. The Q1 figure of $101.315 million is an increase of about $19.3 million over the first quarter of last year, but PSEB’s post does not break down the earnings by client country, by company size, or by the share that comes from newly registered centres. It also does not say how many of the 1,000 registered call centres were inspected in the quarter, so the effect of the compliance framework on the numbers cannot be judged from the announcement alone.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
