Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said pandemic had increased dependence on smartphones and internet services; therefore, the government should cut taxes on this vital sector and take steps to improve its quality.

Presently, 980 million people are connected to the internet wirelessly while twenty million are using wired internet, but the majority is not getting quality services.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that substandard services and frequent disruptions hit masses and damaged businesses during the lockdown. At the same time, the initiative of online classes failed in almost all the areas prompting parents to pull their children out of schools to avoid paying fees unnecessarily.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that government must revisit telecom policies to ensure national development and reduce the gap between rich and poor, for which taxes should be reduced. At the same time, companies should be directed to improve the quality of their services.

He noted that consumers are paying up to 30 percent taxes on mobile services, which are the highest globally, which must be reduced as it is no more a luxury but a necessity; therefore, prices of cell phones should also be reduced.

Pakistan lags behind in telecommunication services from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, blocking the empowerment of the masses.

He said that pandemic had increased digital payments by 30 percent, which will increase by the passage of time; however, criminals are using the trend therefore internet security and cybercrimes system should be strengthened, he observed.

The business leader said that the exports of telecommunications, computer, and information services have jumped by 44 percent to $1.51 billion. In comparison, timely improvement in policies would have helped a 100 percent increase in exports.