The paradox of instability in Pakistan one one hand and the rapid growth of technical expertise on the other is surprising for many. Consider this snippet from the Businessweek article by Rachael King published on June 4 2009.

Pakistan has become the 20th most attractive outsourcing destination,  according to consulting management firm A.T. Kearney. Even as concerns increase about Pakistan’s stability and the growing displaced population due to ongoing military operations with the Taliban, the country made a significant jump on A.T. Kearney’s 2009 Global Services Location Index released May 18. Pakistan went from #30 in 2007 to #20 in 2009.

As Jehan Ara writes, the A.T. Kearney index ranks the top 50 countries worldwide for locating outsourcing activities including IT services and support, contact centers and back-office support. Countries are measured on 43 different attributes related to financial attractiveness, people and skills availability and business environment.

This rise in the ranks happened without much institutional support and lack of a coherent policies. In my opinion, this represents the very nature of Pakistani culture. Resilience and the will to carve out ways to succeed is part of the Pakistani fabric. This is one of the many ways Pakistanis are answering the challenges posed by the current security environment. Consider for example the upcoming gathering of Pakistanis in Silicon Valley. One session is dedicated to discussion of how can entrepreneurship promote development and stability in Pakistan?

Tech Lahore has a good post about this as well. You should read the interesting discussion thread going on at the BusinessWeek site.