Islamabad: Asan Iqbal, Minister of the Union of Plans, Development and Special Initiatives to Encourage Innovation and Reduce Financial Barriers.
The Minister, chairing the National Task Force meeting on Artificial Intelligence, gave these directions, where he called for a detailed and comprehensive national approach to integrating AI across Pakistan's development sector.
To support this direction, the task force was assigned a clear delegation to identify 12 key sectors, including education, health, agriculture, climate, business and governance, where AI applications can generate measurable national benefits.
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Each sector will establish a multi-stakeholder working group consisting of government, academia and private sector experts. These groups develop sector-specific AI roadmaps with clear goals, timelines and resource requirements. The aim is to maximize the usefulness of AI in solving domestic challenges as well as Pakistan's global technological trends.
Recognizing the rise in global investment in AI, the Minister emphasized that it is time for Pakistan to move with clarity and purpose. He said that AI adoption cannot progress on its own and must instead be guided by inter-sectoral cooperation, alignment with national priorities and effective coordination in all relevant institutions.
He said the government has established nine centres of excellence in artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, robotics and quantum computing at major universities, and launched the Quantum Valley Pakistan initiative to build future capabilities with frontier technology.
The Minister also called for a comprehensive mapping exercise to assess the availability of AI-related talent and resources across Pakistan. This includes universities, research centers and industry stakeholders with the aim of deploying these assets in a strategic and coordinated manner.
To bring together key stakeholders, the Minister has directed the task force to organize a national AI workshop in collaboration with the Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA) and other relevant industry associations. This workshop will provide a platform for dialogue between government, academia and industry, and will focus on designing practical AI solutions tailored to the development context of Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for IT and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja. Dr. Yasar Ayaz, project director at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence. Its Department's official, Nadra, Pennsylvania @ha; representatives of the main private sector.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
