LAHORE: Participants in the 5th roundtable conference of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) on Monday decided to establish IT Special Economic Zones in the country to improve software exports.

The conference was held at Arfa Karim Software Technology Park. More than 200 chief executive officers (CEOs) of IT companies from all over the country and representative of government departments were present.

The conference had four agendas, including establishment of special economic zones, improvement in cyber security, provision of facilities for doing businesses through one-window facilitation cells under the Punjab Revenue Authority for resolving complaints, tax break, exemption on imports and reduction in sales tax. The CEOs of IT companies gave suggestions for achieving the agendas.

Later, addressing the press conference, PITB Chairman Dr Umar Saif said the conference was held to provide platform to the government officials, IT industry and academia to discuss IT industry issues under one roof. He said it had been decided to establish IT special economic zones in the country.

“We need 50 acre land in Lahore for establishing the first zone,” he said and added that the government would provide land and other facilities on subsidised rate and one-time exemption from custom duties/taxes in import of plant and machinery and exemption from all taxes on income for 10 years.

“We are working with the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) to amend the minimum land requirement in special economic zones,” he said.

Mr Saif said they were planning to launch an advisory body, Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT), and it would provide suggestions on how to deal with cyber threats. He said they had reverted hundreds of cyber attacks by taking timely action and by establishing CERT they would develop mechanism to take precautionary measures and to rehabilitate any problem faced by the industry.

“Cyber security has become one of the top priorities in the modern age,” he said.

PU VC: The Punjab government on Monday notified Prof Dr Zakria Zakar as provisional vice chancellor of the Punjab University.

According to the notification, “the governor/chancellor is pleased to accept the resignation of Dr Zafar Mueen Nasar, the vice chancellor of the Punjab University. The chancellor is further pleased to appoint Dr Muhammad Zakria Zakar, Faculty of Social Sciences dean, as vice chancellor till the appointment of the vice chancellor on a regular basis.”

Zakria Zakar is also among shortlisted candidates for the regular VC slot picked by the search committee.

Prof Nasar has resigned from his post five days ago, apparently over the issue of the university land which the Punjab government wanted to give to a religious party.

Zakria Zakar is also among the shortlisted candidates picked by the search committee.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2018