A step backwards
I could
not believe my eyes when I saw a message from my long
distance telephone company informing me that the phone call charges
to Pakistan had been increased from 5 cents/mi to 13
cents/ min. More disturbing news to me was that the rate
hike was due to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA)
decision to increase the charges for all the incoming calls to
Pakistan from 2.5 cents to 10 cents per minutes, a 300% increase. After the initial astonishment, a feeling of sadness took
over me. Not because I could not afford to pay the increased
rate but by the thought that the decision makers at PTA were so short
sighted. This is a decision that might bring some extra revenues for
the government of Pakistan in the short run but, in my opinion, can
have detrimental long term consequences for the nation.
During the
past few centuries the political and technological dominance of
Europe is the direct result of the economic prosperity of the citizens
of the European countries. The affluence of the Europeans can be
attributed to their global awareness and their links to the outside
world thus increasing their ability to integrate and utilize
international talent and resources. Three centuries ago, European
traders were exploring the farthest boundaries of Asia, Africa and
the Americas. Their extensive networking to the outside world started
this endless loop of economic success and political power that
constantly fed each other.
The 20th
century belonged to Americas as the new land had become magnet for
immigrants from all over the globe. These immigrants brought their
unique perspective, knowledge and relationships with them. The
collaboration of their ideas and the networking to their homelands gave
birth to the wealthiest and the most dominant empire in the history of
mankind. In the middle of the 20th
century, when the people
of the Indian subcontinent were still fighting for their freedom from
the
British rule, industrialized nations had already fought a super
modern war, an architectural marvel with the
name of Empire State Building had been erected, Japan had been
devastated by the deadliest human creation,
aviation was in very advanced stages, space race had started and the
modern communication tools were already an integral part of the western
civilization. For the past few decades, this ability of the Americans
to freely communicate with the rest of the world through these modern
communication methods has put them at an advantageous position of
influencing the economy of the entire world.
Many business leaders and pundits have predicted that the 21st
century will belong
to the East that has a vast talent pool, untapped natural resources
and rapidly growing consumer markets. Developing nations that can
connect with the rest of the world effectively and seamlessly will be
the winners in this century. It is only the international networking
that will provide Pakistanis a fair chance to claim their share from
this global economy. China and India have already become a
power house for manufacturing and service industry respectively. Both
of these countries have very unrestricted telecommunication policies.
For example, it just costs 2 cents per minute to call China which is
even cheaper than calling within Canada or the United States. I
strongly believe that any step by the PTA to choke the communication
of Pakistanis with the rest of the world is a step backwards.
I
have already established my business in 10
different countries. As a Canadian entrepreneur and I care less what
PTA does since I can simply chose to ignore any business development
with Pakistan and concentrate on other more business friendly
countries. But
as a Pakistani-Canadian, I am very concerned about this move by PTA to
increase the phone
rates. Such steps convey a very negative
image of the business environment in Pakistan and will deeply hurt
Pakistan’s ability to emerge as a significant player in the
21st century economy. I strongly urge Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority to not only reverse this rate increase
but reduce it even further so that the citizens of other countries do not
even have to think twice before dialing a phone number in Pakistan.
I also invite the business community as well as the media in an out
of Pakistan to take this issue to the people and the government of
Pakistan so that Pakistan can march forward towards
economic prosperity in this era of globalization.
Imran Bashir
President, Heaven Fresh Canada Inc
About the author
Imran
Bashir is the founder and president of Heaven Fresh Canada Inc. His
company markets air and water purification products in various
countries around the globe. He got his computer engineering degree from
Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Before starting Heaven
Fresh, he has worked as a research and development engineer with
several American company such as Panasonic, Siemens, Auvo Technologies
and Kirusa Inc. He is also the managing director of Urdu Times Online
edition.
