(Part 3)
## Why IT Industry Cannot Revive Pakistan?
The population of a country is the main element of its national power. It can become an asset once it is skilled. Unskilled population means more jobless people in the country. Joblessness affects the national development negatively.
With all its problems, educated Pakistani can still work from home and earn but they do not get work because of trust issues created by their education and environment.
Pakistan has educated English-speaking population, internet infrastructure, and desperate need for foreign currency. It is small but in terms of population percentage but it is large enough to support the economy.
IT work could be the perfect solution. It requires no migration. It provides direct dollar income which is skill-based rather than resource-dependent. Unfortunately the ideology forces the state itself to act against its own economic interests.
In part 1 and 2 of this series on Pakistan It has been demonstrated that individual Pakistanis are trapped in a system they didn’t choose. Unfortunately education is also another trap.
## Education
School textbooks are one of the most important indicators of official and popular perspectives of the place. Textbooks of Pakistan portray Pakistani Christians as Westerners or equal to British colonial oppressors, and Pakistani Hindus as Indians, the arch enemy of Pakistan.
Pakistan is an ally of USA. Its Field Marshal Munir has already been received in White House by the President of USA, twice in last six months and may receive him again soon, as per reports in Reuters. Yet the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is critical of the education system in Pakistan. Link to its report has been given at the end of this article.
USCIRF had studied 78 books from all four provinces of Pakistan. The books included Urdu, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies, and Social Studies/History from grade 5 to 10 of all four provinces of Pakistan. 24 out of 78 books were found to contain biases. That is one third.
Note this quote from page 23 of the tenth grade Urdu textbook:
>“_Because the Muslim religion, culture and social system are different from non-Muslims, it is impossible to cooperate with Hindus._”
Here is another gem from the Urdu Textbook, Grade 7, Sindh Textbook Board, p.14. It reads:
>_“There were two enemies of Muslims, the Englishmen and Hindus. Both of these were against the formation of Pakistan. On one hand, the Englishmen renounced the division plan of Hindustan, while on the other hand, Hindus were planning to occupy the entire Hindustan and enslave Muslims….”_
The conclusion of USCIRF is that:
>_Public school textbooks, which reach over 41 million children, portray religious
minorities in a negative and stereotypical manner, offering an Islam-centered
perspective as the only valid and rational school of thought._
Thus, the education system that produced technical skills also produced ideological conditioning that makes them last choice to be hired in global markets where trust is the product.
This isn’t about individual capability. It’s about structural credibility. Background checks reveal education in systems documented by USCIRF. The textbooks taught “cooperation with Hindus is impossible.” Apparently the state systematically conditioned hostility in individuals.
Even skilled programmers can’t overcome the reputational damage of their education system. The 1% who are genuinely liberal may be the exception but they only prove the rule.
Pakistan faces a cruel paradox. It needs foreign currency that physical resources cannot provide. It has educated, English-speaking population capable of earning that currency from home. But the same education system also embedded ideological conditioning that makes trust impossible. And trust is foundation of IT industry as a user has very little control over what happens behind the screen.
## Unique Industry
In IT, one malicious commit, one backdoor, one deliberately introduced vulnerability is not a mere damage the client. It destroys reputation of IT professional, permanently.
If a website gets compromised through code from outsourced help, clients do not investigate the supply chain. The contracted IT professional fails. Forever.
There are no second chances because trust is the entire product. Once lost, it’s not recoverable. Other hosts exist. Other developers exist. Why would anyone risk hiring someone whose judgment already failed once?
This makes the risk calculation completely different from other industries. It’s not “potential infrastructure damage” in abstract. It’s “immediate career death.” Therefore, risk-averse hiring is the first condition.
When HR managers who make risk assessments and advise people to avoid outsourcing to Pakistan, they are not being cautious about geopolitics. They are protecting the companies from a decision that could end their livelihood based on risks they cannot adequately assess or control.
## India Blocked
Pakistan needs foreign currency desperately. India has the largest English-speaking IT market outside the US. Geographic proximity means overlapping time zones. Cultural familiarity with work styles despite political tensions. Shared colonial legacy of English proficiency.
And Pakistan has blocked the entire domain at DNS level. This isn’t security policy. It’s ideological rigidity overriding economic survival.
India and China have active border disputes. Soldiers died in Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. Territorial claims remain contested. Military standoffs continue. Yet trade continues. Chinese goods flow into India. Indian pharma exports to China. Investment is restricted, yes, but commerce functions because both sides recognize economic interdependence exists separately from territorial disputes.
Pakistan blocks an entire country’s domain access during peacetime. A State blocks its largest potential market for ideological reasons while economic collapse accelerates. This is not external sabotage. It is self-inflicted structural impossibility.
## Conclusion:
The blocking of India’s domain wasn’t debated or deliberated. It simply happened in anarchy. Ideology doesn’t negotiate with necessity. It proceeds regardless of consequence. This self-destruction is a pattern which is likely to continue till such decision making itself becomes impossible due to anarchy.
*References*:
1. [Teaching Intolerance in Pakistan: Religious Bias in Public School Textbooks](https://www.uscirf.gov/publications/teaching-intolerance-pakistan-religious-bias-public-school-textbooks)
2. [Full Report of USCIRF](https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Teaching%20Intolerance%20in%20Pakistan.pdf)
3. [Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan](https://www.uscirf.gov/reports-briefs/special-reports/connecting-the-dots-education-and-religious-discrimination-in).
4. [Web site Sindh Textbook Board:](http://stbb.edu.pk/STBBEDUPK/index.html)
5. [Web site Punjab Textbook Board:](http://www.ptb.gop.pk)
6. [Web site KPK Textbook Board:](http://kptbb.gov.pk/index.php/guidelines-for-authors)
7. [Aftab Hussain, “Education System of Pakistan: Issues, Problems and Solutions”, 2 March 2015, Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPR):](http://www.ipripak.org/education-system-of-pa-kistan-issues- problems-and-solutions/)
8. [“What is the most blatant lie taught through Pakistan textbooks?”, Herald Exclusive, 15 August 2014:](http://www.dawn.com/news/1125484)
*Note*:
The links with .pk domain will require VPN as these are blocked access from India.