Pakistan IT exports continue declining trend in February 2026

Pakistan’s IT exports maintained a declining trend, with receipts decreasing to $365 million in February 2026, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Previously, the inflows of IT sector receipts had stood at $374 million in January 2026, down from $437 million in December 2025.

Saad Shah, an IT exporter, told Business Recorder the global scenario of war was “extremely negative for business and investment activities in GCC region”.

“Hence, IT exports may further decline in the coming months,” he added. “IT exporters should focus on other markets, including South East Asia region and African countries to enhance their exports of IT and IT-enabled services.”

Also read: Pakistan IT exports jump 19% to $1.8bn in Jul-Nov

Shah further said Pakistan IT companies could penetrate the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in a proper strategy to enhance its exports once the situation of war was settled between the states.

Ibrahim Amin, Chairman Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA), said the prevailing situation might create good freelancing opportunities for freelancers and IT companies on multiple freelancing platforms such as Upwork and Freelance.com.

“The air traffic has been badly disturbed because of the ongoing war between Iran and US-Israel, and a number of companies in the GCC region may switch to outsource their projects to different countries,” he said. “Not only freelancers but IT companies in Pakistan should be vigilant to grab the emerging opportunities in GCC region on multiple freelancing and social media platforms.”

Dr Noman A Said, an IT exporter and CEO SI Global, pointed out that opportunities for IT companies in Pakistan might emerge once the ceasefire between the two sides took place.

He said a number of cybersecurity and AI-qualified professionals would be hunted by different countries and companies. “Therefore, Pakistan needs to train its human resources in these fields to capture the maximum share of the business in emerging business growth.”

“Pakistan’s youth is growing prominently in the world. All stakeholders, including the government, educational institutes, and private sector could join hands and educate our growing generation with emerging skills and technologies,” he further remarked.

As per the SBP data, inflows of IT and IT-enabled services surged to $2.97 billion during the period of July to February as compared to $2.48 billion reported in a similar period of the current financial year, showing a 19.6% year-on-year increase.

Pakistan’s IT exports in USA and Gulf markets has also been affected badly by the current military conflict of these countries that may further make it challenging to achieve an ambitious plan of $5 billion IT exports in the financial year 2025-26.

At present, if Pakistan achieves the average growth of IT exports at $365 million, the overall IT exports could hardly surge to $4.5 billion by the end of the current financial year.