Thread by @faizansiddiqi

"Huawei also offered to formulate the ICT White Paper with the help of international consultants as well as identifying existing ICT systems & suggesting improvements."We continue being blessed by being represented by under qualified ppl at these meetings bit.ly/3bMwk3V

Sometimes less is more. We need less govt interaction esp when they are out of their depth on matters. Imagine the implications of a private party telling u what's good for you by engaging yet more foreign consultants. This happens due to lack of local stakeholders.

1st the govt had colonial separation anxiety now they going through Stockholm syndrome. International consultants are great for the business of kick backs & lining up personal coffers of the parties involved.Also their self aligned advice makes it kosher to hand out permits.

Even the Chinese have wizened up. They are merely doing what ever it takes including #DigitalPakistan. Sadly our remaining joke of a national IT board is busy launching job sites. And in tech jobs has 4 of its own analyst positions. Gives u insight into their lack of it.

So what all this means is that the PM along with his motley crew is having these national level meetings without any clear objectives at the cost of the tech sector at best and at worse alienating all others from getting into this space. The real joke is on us.

We continue to claim a 1bn$ of software exports but the govt can't miss a photo opp with the software sales ppl of foreign companies whose software we import to the tune of 200/300m$. The meetings they need to have are, to bringing these guys to build meaningful ops in Pakistan

Our silly non technical and non financial leaders continue to mis construe office opening with a company's arrival.Esp when u have the likes of Londons very own boy wonder in these meetings, some one who u wouldn't take along to buy a cell phone given the lack of understanding.

The formula has been simple, foreign trips for dignitaries followed by an office in isloo, hosting the right parties for the right ppl in the diplomatic enclave and lo and behold u have one more sales office and all of govt buying from them too. What a cluster.

We need to promote local consulting, local software where ever possible and hold the likes of these meetings with the first agenda point as local manufacturing or assembly before any one can sell into the market or to the govt. Yet these guys mock us by selling us more snake oil

By pitching more consultants at the ill prepared govt and setting the agenda for our needs and challenges drafted by some one who has zero in market expertise but passes the skin color test. Request to @ImranKhanPTI is to stop having irrelevant folks at these meetings

How does the regulator fit into such a meeting.Make the meeting minutes public also what does the IT minister contribute to this? Make these meetings of equals vs these low IQ pageants. The whole country is watching. Do some thing right. Bring in manufacturing & engineering folks

Just being in the same room with the Chinese is not testament to CPEC working, think this through. Partners like these are amazing to have esp if you know how and what to demand of them by giving them market access. So here are some thoughts for u

Next time u meet a diversified tech Co ask them to setup
1)KaiOS phone manufacturing
2)An engineering center of excellence
3) Vocational training for telecom technicians
4) Hardware financing programs for SMEs and Msmes to modernize their infra
I assure u this is a good start.

U can't continue to do the same stupid stuff ur predecessors did and expect a different outcome. Time to act with more mindfulness. @rebootdude @jehan_ara @raza_matin @TalhaIzhar @SaadGH @VeqarIslam @Ash_Kalim