The APNIC Foundation will hold EmpowerTech Islamabad 2026 on 25 November 2026 at the Mövenpick Hotel Centaurus in Islamabad, bringing together leaders in technology, cybersecurity, and digital governance to discuss how Pakistan can turn its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions into real opportunities, according to a post on its LinkedIn page. The foundation says the event will explore the decisions and priorities that will shape the next chapter of Pakistan’s digital transformation, and that it sits at the intersection of technology, policy, and the people who shape both. Those interested in attending can register their interest through the link in the announcement, and the foundation has said the full line-up of speakers and further details will be shared later.
The first three experts have been announced. Haider Abbas, Director General of the National Cyber Emergency Response Team (National CERT) of Pakistan, is an internationally recognised cybersecurity researcher who will bring his expertise to discussions on security, trust, and responsible AI adoption. Habibullah Khan, Founder and CEO of Penumbra Digital, will moderate a discussion on the policies and governance approaches needed to support responsible AI adoption while allowing innovation to continue. Zakir Syed, Head of AI at Ignite, the National Technology Fund, has contributed to the development of Pakistan’s national policies on emerging technologies, including AI and cloud computing, and will speak about the skills and institutional capabilities needed to support wider AI adoption in the country.
Abbas has recently spoken about the same themes in public. Samaa TV reported that he said more than 400 cyberattacks targeted Pakistan during 2026 and that all of them were thwarted through timely detection and response, and that he called for legislation to regulate the safe use of AI, warning that the technology could be used as a weapon if left unregulated. He has also said that cybersecurity is now inseparable from national security and that a formal mechanism is needed to examine software and hardware imported into the country before it is used. These positions point to the kind of discussion that the security and trust session at the event is likely to cover, although the announcement does not give the agenda or the format of the sessions.
The APNIC Foundation has worked with Pakistani partners on cybersecurity before. National CERT said it organised the Cyber Bootcamp Spring 2025 with Yottabyte and the APNIC Foundation at the Information Technology and Skills Institute in Islamabad, and the Cyber Defence Conference 2025 with Yottabyte, the National University of Sciences and Technology, the National Science and Technology Park, and the APNIC Foundation. The announcement for EmpowerTech Islamabad 2026 does not say how many people the event will host, whether it is free to attend, or which other organisations are partners, so attendees will need to wait for the foundation’s next update. What it does show is that the conversation about AI in Pakistan is moving from policy documents to meetings where the officials who write the rules, the experts who test security, and the companies that build the systems can discuss them together.
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