Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) represented Pakistan at the 19th International Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards by taking the official delegation of winners and runner-ups from PASHA ICT Awards 2019.

"The APICTA Awards were held in Ha Long, Vietnam, from November 18 to 23, which are known as a stepping stone for member economies to get exposure and recognition for their ICT innovations on an international level," disclosed a PASHA's spokesperson here on Saturday.

According to him, the awards not only promote the development and deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions but also facilitate in trade, business matching, technology exchange and collaborations. APICTA consists of these 16 leading economies of the region: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal.

PASHA ICT Awards have been acting as a doorway to APICTA for the Pakistani ICT talent. The Pakistan Team was represented by a total of five judges: Syed Ahmad, Barkan Saeed, Talhah Munir Khan and Head Judge Badar Khushnood under the leadership of PASHA Senior Vice Chairman Syed Ali. Nine nominees participated from Pakistan representing Karachi, Hyderabad, Islamabad and Mardan.

The Pakistan team succeeded in securing one Gold Award and two Merit Awards, ranking sixth amongst 16 countries. Astera Software won the Gold Award in 'Professional Services under the Business Services' category while Duck Game and Base Camp IT Solutions received Merit Awards in 'Student (Junior)' category and 'Inclusions and Community (Regional, rural and remote services)' category, respectively.

The Merit Award for Duck Game was won by the 13-year-old Abdullah Khan Swati from Government High School, Labrkot, Mansehra, which is a very proud moment for the nation. There are many others like Abdullah who do not even speak Urdu or English but can beat international students in coding competitions. They are the real wealth of Pakistan and we need to invest everything we have in these children," said PASHA Former Chairman Syed Ahmad.

Head Judge Badar Khushnood stated, "Despite being a small delegation, the Pakistani team has proven itself by its determination and brilliance by securing these awards and participating with such excitement and energy. The success story of our team has been propagated very actively through PASHA this year and I can assure you that the representation from Pakistan is only going to get bigger each year."