July 26, 2005	Tuesday	Jumadi-us-Sani 18, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, July 25: Federal Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari on Monday said an overland fibre optic link through India would become operational within a few weeks while another connectivity channel was coming up by October.

Speaking at the concluding ceremony of 15th All-Pakistan Software Competition and exhibition held under the auspices of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), the minister said the software industry was growing at a rate of 45 per cent annually. He said compared to the software industry, IT enabled services were growing at a much faster rate. This trend, he said, would have to be maintained for several years.

Mr Leghari said the government was trying to patronize commercial ventures.

He cited the example of a law software produced by one of the software houses in the country, which the company found difficult to market. But, later the IT ministry procured the rights of the software and distributed it among all district bars across the country, he added.

This intervention by the ministry rescued the company whose business is now flourishing, the minister said, adding that the lawyers would hopefully benefit from the software and improve the quality of their practice.

Mr Leghari said a judge in Karachi had a software with which he had been able to reduce the pendency of cases. This software, he said, was also being patronized by the government.

The IT ministry, he said, had launched an entrepreneurial programme under which a search for best projects was underway. About his health, the minister denied having suffered a heart attack. “The problem was related to my arteries and I am doing well now.”

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Chairman Dr Javed Arshad Mirza, on this occasion, said information technology was the country’s most exciting and dynamic industry with a phenomenal growth rate of 30-40 per cent. Nevertheless, despite the vibrancy of the IT sector reflected by its growth, the government needs to create more opportunities, he added.

He quoted the example of difference in the volume of IT related exports between Pakistan and India, saying that the latter’s exports stood at $12.8 billion, while the former got business for about $300 million.

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