Keeping the situation of the mobile phone manufacturing industry in Pakistan, former chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) wrote a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif. Former chairman of BOI, Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, who is also Founder and Chief Executive of Nutshell Group (Lobbyist Company) in his letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that the mobile phone manufacturing business is in a huge crisis.
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The letter went on to say that three million cellphones were produced by the companies, many workers are now unemployed as a result of the closure of Letters of Credit (LCs). A problem is occurring at 30 factories that assemble mobile phones in Pakistan. The mobile phone business employs about four million people and requires $10 crore in equipment and raw materials each month.
According to earlier reports, Pakistan’s telecom industry is in a dire financial situation as a result of its per-user revenue, which has fallen to a record-low $0.80. There was concern among Pakistani telecom carriers due to this startling number. The depreciation of the Pakistani rupee in relation to the US dollar, according to insiders within the industry, will further make it challenging for telecom carriers to maintain services.
It is worth mentioning here that Azfar Ahsan owns a lobbyist company Nutshell Communication. In an interview with the magazine about an year ago, Azfar Ahsan claims to already have 90 regular clients and up to 150 clients overall to whome his company is providing communication and lobbying services. These clients include some of the largest banks in Pakistan, all four major telecom companies, K-Electric, and other major energy companies. Azfar himself does not shy away from the word lobbying, and admits that is exactly what Nutshell communications does.
Also, he created the “Corporate Pakistan Group” Whatsapp group for Pakistan’s political and commercial elite. Azfar and other members of the CPG group that includes top management of IT and Telecommunication Companies, Banks, Energy Companies, policy makers, politicians, former Members of Parliament, Former Senators and other key influencers now use the group as a social tool to network with other influential people by hosting dinners, mushairas, and other events.
Azfar is rather proud about using this influence to make Nutshell Communications successful. He stated with his interview with magazine that joining the CPG WhatsApp group was “tougher to get a membership of Sindh Club or Punjab Club.” The former chairman BOI Azfar Ahsan is using these relationships to his lobbying firm’s advantage and has made significant progress. One source claims that he receives a monthly fee of a couple of million rupees from just one client in the energy sector and something similar from Telecom companies and banks too.
