Federal IT and Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haq wrote a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar regarding possible closure of Google application in Pakistan in the wake of revoking of $34 million payment by the State Bank of Pakistan to the international service providers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the IT minister held consultations with all stakeholders and wrote a letter to the finance ministry.
Aminul Haq said that the telecom industry is already facing crisis and such decisions might also aggravate the situation. He said if the State Bank stops payments, then the services of Google application will be suspended in Pakistan. He, however, said that the free Google application services would continue.
He further said that by revoking international payments, Pakistan image would be affected internationally.
He requested Finance Minister Dar to take notice of the matter and direct the central bank to make prompt payments to the international service providers.
As per the media reports, the mobile users would be unable to download the Google Play Store services in Pakistan from December 01, 2022 after the State Bank of Pakistan revoked the payment of $34 million to international service providers.
The SBP suspended the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) mechanism, so payment of $34 million on an annual basis through mobile companies to international service providers, including Google, Amazon and Meta, etc, got stuck up.
Pakistani customers will now be forced to download Google and other international Apps for making payments through credit cards or debit cards only. But the credit card facility is limited to a certain number of customers, so the majority of mobile users may be deprived of downloading Apps from Google Play Store.
Reporter Waqas Azeem