Pakistan’s technology exports climbed to a record $4.2 billion during the first eleven months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, a 20 percent year-on-year increase that leaves the sector firmly on course to meet the government’s $4.5 billion full-year target, according to Arab News, citing central bank data.
Exports of information technology and IT-enabled services rose 13 percent year-on-year in May 2026 alone, fetching $373 million, the same report noted. The eleven-month tally builds on FY25’s then-record $3.8 billion and, if June receipts hold, would mark the sector’s strongest year on record.
The headline figure has been powered by a striking surge in freelancer earnings. Pakistani freelancers brought in $1.6 billion over the July-to-May period, an 80 percent jump from a year earlier, with May contributions alone reaching $169 million, up 87 percent year-on-year, Arab News reported. Earlier in the year, tech freelancers had already contributed $856.3 million during the first nine months, per Mettis Global.
“Pakistan’s tech sector continues to be one of the country’s strongest export success stories, driving digital transformation, creating high-value employment, and expanding Pakistan’s global technology footprint,” finance adviser Khurram Schehzad said, as quoted by Arab News.
Much of the recent momentum is attributed to a wave of regulatory easing by the State Bank of Pakistan. The central bank scrapped the cumbersome Form R for IT exports and raised the reporting threshold to $25,000, according to Voice of Journalists. Freelancers may now retain up to 50 percent of their income in foreign-currency accounts, while IT companies and freelancers can hold up to $5,000 monthly, with the bank also committing to a one-working-day turnaround on inward export receipts and outward remittances, the outlet reported. The reforms were designed in part to narrow the gap between officially recorded exports and the sector’s actual earnings.
The easing appears to be reflected in the numbers. Freelancer export receipts rose 58 percent to $557 million in the first half of FY26, up from $352 million a year earlier, Voice of Journalists noted.
The IT sector also continues to benefit from a favourable fiscal regime, with the Pakistan Software Export Board maintaining a 0.25 percent preferential tax rate on IT-export revenue, the same report said. The board reported a trade surplus of $2.91 billion over the nine-month period, equivalent to 86 percent of total ICT remittances, according to Mettis Global.
Industry concerns nonetheless persist around policy durability. Sector bodies have flagged “regulatory durability — whether the current dollar-retention permissions, Form R simplification, and one-day turnaround commitment will remain in place through successive governments” as a central worry, Voice of Journalists reported.
The broader digital base underpinning the export push has expanded sharply, with broadband subscribers reaching 161 million and penetration at 64.2 percent, while the DigiSkills programme has trained 5.14 million people, per Mettis Global. With June’s receipts still to be tallied, the sector’s ability to clear the $4.5 billion threshold will signal whether Pakistan’s longer-term ambition of scaling tech exports toward $10 billion remains within reach.
