Islamabad: Pakistan government has approved the country’s first drone policy in an effort to boost local drones manufacturing industry and to usher in a new era of automation.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday gave the green light to set up a committee to formulate a legislative and regulatory body that would expand a safer and legalised use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in diverse sectors. Drone technology can greatly benefit the country’s agriculture and urban planning sectors and maintain law and order situation, Khan said after a meeting with Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry in Islamabad.
Develop local drone manufacturing industry
The drone policy is seen as the first step towards building the drone industry in the country where the import of drones is practically banned due to security concerns. Talking to Gulf News, Minister Fawad Chaudhry explained the government has decided to lift the ban “to develop and boost the local drone manufacturing industry” in the next five years. The regulation would help Pakistan tap into the commercial drone market, which is expected to touch US$43 billion by 2025 with an annual 20 per cent growth rate, he said. “To develop its drone industry, Pakistan looks forward to joint ventures with China and Turkey,” the minister said.
Focus on agriculture and police drones
The planned legislation is designed to effectively “use drones in precision agriculture and by law enforcement for public safety.” He said that his ministry is in contact with police departments to create special drone units to help curb street crimes in cities such as Karachi. As police departments around the world are increasingly turning to drones to fight crimes, Pakistan’s police can also make full use of high-tech surveillance tools, he said.
• Agriculture
• Health and medicine
• Rescue missions such as natural disasters and fire-fighting
• Forestry
• Construction and infrastructure inspection
• Survey and exploration
• Utilities
• Mining
This year, Islamabad Police started using drones to track suspects especially those involved in street crimes, expand the scope of police surveillance and ensure public safety. In July 2020, Pakistan introduced locally developed drones, designed and manufactured by ABM SATUMA (Private) Ltd, initially to fight the locust attack and later to enhance agricultural productivity.
Regulation and incentives to private sector urged
Local drone manufacturers suggest that besides regulating the use of drones, the federal government must encourage the private sector by offering direct support and tax incentives to develop the local industry. “Pakistan is missing out on a huge potential to develop our drone industry due to red tape and custom duties” says Imran Wazeer, the COO of ABM SATUMA, the private company that has been developing drones in Pakistan for over two decades and pushed the government for drone legislation.
“Nearly, 90 per cent of the drones in Pakistan are basically smuggled because of the requirement of permit (called NOC or no-objection certificate) and custom and other duties that go as high as 49 per cent” Wazeer told Gulf News. “Illegal import of drones and its components such as engines, cameras and sensors is already causing a loss of millions of dollars to the government exchequer. Why not cut the taxes and make it easy and legal to import it?” he suggested. Pakistan has long restricted the commercial use and import of drones due to security reasons. “Drone pilot training should be a key component of the policy for registered and controlled use of drones and deal with security concerns” he stressed. To develop and promote the drone industry, Pakistan government should support the private companies focused on drone technology that have the potential to attract foreign investments and joint ventures, Wazeer advised.
