The cost of a political divide

The competitive narratives of the government and main opposition party indicate that the escalating political tensions would not peter out any time soon despite their negative impact on economic recovery. Political turmoil has shaken the confidence of local business people and foreign investors, who have also lost hope that the political crisis will ever be over, says Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mohammad Jawed Bilwani. One hour of internet outage or disruption results in a loss of $1 million for the whole sector, says Pakistan Software Houses Association Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed, explaining that, “A one-hour internet slowdown might not have any significant impact on people, but disturbed services to a client in any stock market, airport service, bank, etc, in advanced countries would eventually lead to loss of confidence in Pakistan’s IT sector.”