Senator Anusha Rahman, Senior Adviser to the Chief Minister of Punjab and former Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications, has called on Pakistan to urgently modernise its regulatory frameworks while simultaneously investing in connectivity infrastructure, including satellite internet, to unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital finance. She made these remarks as chief guest at the Leadership Summit on Blockchain and Digital Assets hosted by the LUMS Centre for Digital Assets Research, where she delivered the keynote address alongside Waqar Qureshi, Director General of Information Technology Solutions at the Punjab Information Technology Board.
Delivering the keynote address, the former IT minister underscored that while Pakistan has entered the era of frontier technologies, the governance frameworks are still being written, making this a decisive moment for policymakers. She outlined that Punjab plans to establish specialised artificial intelligence and blockchain-focused incubators in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Sahiwal, alongside an ambitious skills programme targeting six million young people, including women, over the next four years. She emphasised that the goal is not just startups that scale abroad, but solutions that solve problems for 140 million people in Punjab.
Senator Rahman announced that Punjab is launching a Connect the Unconnected mission, stating that the government will soon commence the provision of internet services through satellite technology, primarily focusing on the public sector initially. This rollout will prioritise government schools, public health facilities, and administrative offices, with the provincial Information Technology Department already working on multiple modern connectivity projects. Addressing participants, she emphasised that improving high-speed internet access in underserved and remote regions remains a top priority, noting that the proposed satellite internet initiative would enable connectivity in villages, schools, colleges, and healthcare facilities, and that while there is a strong public inclination to adopt digital technologies, the lack of infrastructure has limited progress.
On the evolution of digital finance, Senator Rahman argued that a cashless economy is more than convenience, calling it a structural shift that generates data for credit access, tax compliance, and targeted subsidies, and describing it as the foundation of transparency that attracts serious investment. A high-level panel discussion on artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital assets featured prominent industry leaders including Faisal Ejaz Khan, Chief Information Officer at Bank of Punjab, Muhammad Zaman, Group Head Digital Transformation and Innovation at Allied Bank, and other senior figures from the financial and technology sectors. The summit’s dual focus on regulatory reform and infrastructure investment reflects an emerging consensus among Pakistani policymakers that digital transformation cannot be achieved through policy alone without the physical connectivity backbone to support it, particularly in a province as geographically and demographically diverse as Punjab.
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