In July 2025, Pakistan crossed the digital milestone with approval of its first national artificial intelligence policy. As chairman of the National AI Policy Committee, I had the clear privilege of leading this process not only as a technical exercise but as a national conversation.
This policy did not come out from behind closed doors. It was built through a comprehensive and iterative process that brings together a multi-faceted expert committee of experts across Pakistan, government agencies, private technology companies, academia, civil society and the military. Voices from every corner of the country contributed to its vision and detail.
And the Ministry of Communications has fixed this effort with clarity and consistency. The team was deeply involved in every stage of drafting and consultation. State Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja proposed timely guidance and confirmed that this policy is a top priority. Her role was crucial in ensuring cabinet approval. Broader feedback was also invited and incorporated. Stakeholders such as HEC, FBR, PEMRA, PTA, state IT boards, universities and more are all active. Industry partners such as Jazz, Oicci, GSMA, and global players such as Google and Unesco reviewed and supported the refinement of the document. Their insights have increased policy relevance and broadened their ambitions.
As a chair, I witnessed first-hand how divergent voices can converge to shared goals when interests become national. There was a moment of debate – how far we promote AI regulations, how to ensure fairness, or how to match international norms. But the spirit has always been constructive. Our committee has become a microcosm of what policy making should be. He is an evidence-informed, participatory, public scientist.
I still remember one member of the Balochistan committee saying, “This policy is important when our girls can code in Kuzdal.” The spirit of inclusion in that desire remained with us.
Pakistan has now joined some groups of South Asian countries with AI policies, such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is the character, not the timeline, that distinguishes Pakistan's policies. What really sets it apart is the scope, structure and soul of the policy. Rather than providing fragmentary ideas or general aspirations, National AI Policy 2025 presents a full-spectral blueprint of how Pakistan can responsibly utilize AI across sectors and generations.
At its core, the policy is centered around six interlinked pillars. These include:
1) Building an innovation ecosystem to develop AI research, start-up companies and venture capital.
2) Expand national awareness and preparation through large-scale skills and public sector training.
3) Protect AI through ethical frameworks, data sovereignty and transparent governance.
4) Go to convert AIRED. Here, a sectoral roadmap will be developed to integrate AI into agriculture, education, health, climate resilience, energy and governance. The policy envisions the public sector where predictive analytics improves service delivery, farmers have access to climate smart tools, and health checks reach rural clinics via AI-backed platforms.
5) Building a digital foundation. Pakistan will invest in high-performance computing clusters, leading local language models, national AI data repositories and cloud infrastructure. Establish AI hubs in major cities to close regional disparities and build connectivity between universities, industry and government.
6) Formulating international partnerships and collaborations. Pakistan will participate in the Global AI Forum, build bilateral and multilateral cooperation and promote AI diplomacy. The goal is to remain interoperable with global standards, attract ethical AI investments and participate in collaborative research and development. Institutions, including UNESCO and the Asian Development Bank, are aware of Pakistan's preparation to be involved in this policy, endorsing its principles, and lead responsibly.
Importantly, this policy has not been developed on its own. It is closely integrated with existing digital and cybersecurity frameworks, including National Cybersecurity Policy, Cloud First Policy, Personal Data Protection Bill, Digital Pakistan Policy, and Digital Nation Pakistan Law. This alignment ensures consistency, avoids duplication and reflects the government-wide approach to digital transformation. Inclusiveness is a critical feature. From AI scholarships for women and people with disabilities to training for underserved communities, the policy aims to bridge divisions. Gender digital disparities and algorithm bias are not retrospective. They are front and center. AI should not replicate structural inequality. It must help to dismantle them.
AI is more than just a layer of Tech Stack. This is a multiplier of forces for development, whether or not you talk about the increased agricultural yields, identifying learning gaps in public schools, supporting financial inclusion, and the possibilities of transparent governance. AI could do things for decades that traditional reforms could not be possible. However, technology alone is not the solution. It must coincide with public values, institutional preparation, and citizen trust. That's why policy emphasizes ethics, transparency and human surveillance. It proposes national registration for open source AI governance frameworks, regulatory sandboxes, and public sector AI tools. These are not cosmetic additions. They are the underlying guardrails.
By 2030, AI adoption could increase Pakistan's GDP by up to 12%, creating more than 3.5 million new jobs. This policy positions Pakistan as a sovereign innovator rather than as a passive user of imported technology.
For me, this journey was never about drafting a document. It was to shape the digital fate of the country I believe in. The conversation as a committee on national capabilities, public trust, inclusion and innovation reminded us that policymaking is at its best when it is enthusiastic yet based on people's lives. Pakistan should not simply adapt to the future.
We have to help define it. Doing so becomes clearer than innovations against confusion, inclusion in inertia and indifference. This is not the conclusion of the policy process. It was the beginning of national transformation. The words may be written, but their impact depends on action, ownership and follow-through. Let's move forward not as a bystander to the fourth industrial revolution, but as an active architect of the future where Pakistan's talent, values and innovation form the global AI horizon.
