Caretaker Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Justice Retired Yar Muhammad Nasir, and Gilgit-Baltistan Minister for Information Technology Ghulam Abbas held a meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday with Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, focusing on the progress of Pakistan’s national digital transformation agenda and the steps needed to ensure that Gilgit-Baltistan is meaningfully integrated into the country’s digital growth trajectory. The meeting provided both sides with an opportunity to align on shared priorities under the Digital Nation Pakistan vision being pursued by the federal government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and to identify specific interventions that can accelerate digital development in a region that, despite its strategic importance and significant tourism potential, has historically lagged behind more urbanised parts of the country in terms of digital infrastructure, connectivity, and access to technology-enabled economic opportunities.
During the discussions, Shaza Fatima outlined the federal government’s ongoing work on nationwide digital transformation and noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is extending particular attention to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to ensure their inclusion in the country’s digital progress rather than allowing the two regions to be left behind as connectivity and digital services expand across the four provinces. Both delegations engaged in detailed discussions on the Digital Nation Pakistan initiative and the preparation and implementation of the National Digital Master Plan, a comprehensive policy framework intended to guide the country’s digital development across sectors and administrative units. The participants agreed on the need to accelerate a coordinated digitalisation strategy that delivers uniform digital development across all four provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan, reflecting a recognition that inclusive digital growth requires deliberate policy attention to regions that face geographical, infrastructural, and economic barriers to connectivity and technology adoption that do not apply to major urban centres.
The meeting also addressed broader themes of economic transformation through technology, with both sides exchanging views on adopting a coordinated approach to digitalisation across various sectors and underlining the importance of promoting the digital economy as a driver of sustainable growth. One of the most specific and consequential outcomes of the meeting was a directive issued by the federal minister to the Pakistan Digital Authority to formulate a comprehensive plan aimed at creating employment opportunities for young people in Gilgit-Baltistan and boosting the digital economy in the region, a tasking that signals federal institutional commitment to translating the meeting’s discussions into actionable programming. Special emphasis was placed on the role of digitalisation in promoting tourism, with both sides agreeing to enhance digital tourism initiatives as a means of unlocking the region’s considerable but underleveraged potential as a destination for domestic and international visitors. The caretaker chief minister extended an invitation to the federal minister to visit Gilgit-Baltistan, and the meeting concluded with a shared commitment to undertaking joint measures that will give concrete form to the digital development goals discussed during the engagement.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
