ISLAMABAD: The e-commerce gateway is need of the hour and its establishment will further boost consumers’ confidence, said Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom­munications Anusha Rahman.

Chairing an inter-ministerial committee meeting here on Wednesday, the minister said that e-commerce markets were thriving globally, “in 2013 this industry had grown rapidly to $1,250 billion.”

She said that the local e-commerce industry needed secure mechanism for reliable authorisation and authentication of transactions to enhance consumers’ confidence.

“Buyers and merchants both need to feel confident in placing their sensitive information online, for which stringent regulations of the State Bank of Pakistan need to be in place,” she added.

She stressed that inter-ministerial committee should devise regulatory and legal framework on an urgent basis.

She further directed constitution of a working group tasked to devise a strategic plan in 30 days for establishment of e-commerce gateway and infrastructure for transactions.

Federal Secretary IT Azmat Ali Ranjha, Member Telecom Mudassir Hussain, Managing Direc­tor, Pakistan Soft­ware Export Board (PSEB), senior officials of Ministry of Com­merce, Finance Division, State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan Tele­communi­cation Authority (PTA) also attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, July 17th , 2014

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Some progress
Updated 24 May, 2026

Some progress

Pakistan deserves credit for helping preserve diplomatic space, but also must avoid appearing aligned with coercive pressure from any side.
Chinese market
24 May, 2026

Chinese market

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s trip to China presents an opportunity to rebalance Pakistan’s economic...
Harvesting humans
24 May, 2026

Harvesting humans

ORGAN brokers have for too long preyed on desperation to rake it in. The odious trade — among the most harmful...
More stabilisation
Updated 23 May, 2026

More stabilisation

The stabilisation achieved through painful growth compression steps could have been used as a platform for structural reforms.
Appalling tactics
23 May, 2026

Appalling tactics

IN Punjab, an encounter with the law can quickly turn deadly. Encouraged by a culture of ‘shoot first, ask...
Failed experiment
23 May, 2026

Failed experiment

IT is going from bad to worse for Shan Masood and Pakistan. It is now seven successive Test defeats away from home;...