In the West, most young people keep their laptop just for a few years. Then they change it and buy the latest model, and nowadays, that means a touch screen tablet (tabs) or a very slim and light laptop.

The old computers are sold and many come to developing countries. Pakistan has a large market with a total population of almost two hundred million people, with more than half below 30.

The importers and large traders know this and tens of thousands of used laptops land in Karachi by ship. The laptops are checked and sent on to wholesalers and dealers all over the country.

“There are some 300,000 laptops sold in Pakistan every year,” says Tahir Chaudhry, president of the Computer Society of Pakistan, a professional IT organisation which also advises the government.

“This is my estimate based on certain calculations. There are about 300,000 new university students annually and it is almost a must for them to have a computer. Many other individuals and companies buy computers, too,” he adds.

“The exact figure is difficult to know because the importers may want to deflate the figures to pay less tax and duty; the shops will do the same; but the different brands (HP, IBM, Toshiba and so on) may want to inflate the figures to show how popular their particular brand is.”

“We estimate that about 15 to 20 per cent of the laptops sold in Pakistan are new machines; the rest are used, ‘dumped’ by the industrialised countries. Just a couple per cent of the sale is tablets. I think that the market will only grow when the youngsters in the West begin to discard the first generation of tablets and go for new ones. Prices will then become more affordable for the average Pakistani customers. However, the upscale mobile phones are already used almost as a tablet,” Tahir Chaudhry says.

The Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, initiated by the Punjab chief minister and the prime minister, is a clear indication of the importance that leaders place on helping young people get on to the ‘IT highway’. One hundred thousand laptops, worth some Rs3 billion, have been distributed free to university students, especially to those on scholarships who achieve higher marks in exams. Another hundred thousand will be distributed next year.

“It is a great initiative, but there are a million ordinary university students, so we need even more schemes and cheap computers. We should assemble computers locally,” says Murtaza Noor, the communications spokesperson for the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

“Many students can afford to buy their own new or secondhand laptops and have their own Internet connection. Today, one cannot imagine a university student or teacher not having Internet access. They need it all the time, yes, as much or more than the ‘old-fashioned’ library with books and journals. More courses will have distance education components using e-mail, too. Women are as keen on having their own computers and Internet connections as men are,” Murtaza Noor says.

“No, I cannot think of a life without a laptop,” says Wasim Gallan, 23.

He grew up in Birmingham, England, but has now come back to work in the family business, running two large bakeries in Islamabad. He says that he finds Pakistan behind the UK and Europe as for IT. “But Islamabad is quite modern,” he adds.

“In Norway, people have become great IT freaks,” says Farnaz Nazir, 27, a Norwegian born and bred psychologist of Pakistani origin who now lives in Islamabad, her husband’s hometown.

“Young Norwegians are now leaving their laptops in place of the even more modern and handy tablets, with email, mobile phone, games and more in one little gadget. Most homes, schools, offices, and even railway stations and restaurants, have WiFi wireless connection. Everyone seems to be using these things all the time. And, yes, we are lagging much behind in Pakistan,” Farnaz says.

“One can live without a laptop in Pakistan, but then one must at least have access to a desktop computer at the place of work or study,” Farnaz says, supported by her husband Ahsan Riaz.

But none of them would even dream of not having their portable IT machines.

“I have a good desktop computer,” says Waqas Ahmad, 23, from Rawalpindi.

“I paid Rs17,000 for it last year. It was second hand and it is good enough for emails and other things that I and my brothers and sisters use it for. My younger siblings also need it for school assignments. Since I am the only one of the young generation with an income, I had to pay for the computer,” Waqas says.

“I bought a new laptop this year,” says M. Suleman Khan, who is Waqas’ colleague in a print shop in Islamabad.

“I bought a new laptop for Rs45,000 last year. But then I am very interested in IT and graphics, and I need a good computer for my distance education studies for my Master’s degree,” Suleman says.

“For most people, I think it makes good economy to buy a secondhand computer rather than to spend double or triple the amount on a new machine,” Mubashir says. He is a computer expert in Infinix, a private computer company in Islamabad, repairing and servicing computers at Blue Area in Islamabad.

Down the street on the service road, Asif Ali, a salesman in Extreme Technology, is busy showing customers secondhand laptops. “We sell at least five to 10 computers every day,” he says.

In another shop called E-Box, Mohammad Naveed says he sells even more, usually in the range of 10 to 15.

“If we are lucky, we get larger foreign companies as customers. They buy new machines and some let their staff members keep the old laptops after three to four years when they upgrade and go for a new generation yet again. I wish Pakistani businesses could do the same,” Naveed says.