The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has moved to finalize the National Data Governance Policy 2026 after completing consultations with federal and provincial governments, public sector organizations and other stakeholders. The draft policy was reviewed during a high-level consultative meeting chaired by Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja and organized by the ministry in collaboration with the Pakistan Digital Authority. The proposed framework is intended to establish a national approach for managing, protecting, sharing and responsibly using government data. Shaza Fatima said the government, as the country’s largest custodian of public data, requires a defined framework to manage information effectively while supporting Pakistan’s wider digital priorities. The consultation process has allowed government institutions and other stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed framework before its finalization. The policy is expected to establish a structured approach to public-sector data governance and support the development of digital systems that can exchange information securely across government institutions.
The National Data Governance Policy 2026 covers the management of public-sector data across its lifecycle, including collection, generation, acquisition, use, sharing, reuse, retention, preservation and lawful disposal. The policy document establishes government data as a strategic national asset while maintaining that operational custody will remain with the public body that lawfully collects or generates the information. Rather than creating a single centralized repository containing all government information, the proposed model is based on distributed custody, common standards and governed exchange between institutions. The framework also establishes the National Data Exchange, known as WASL, as the pathway for inter-agency data exchange. Government bodies will be expected to use the designated exchange mechanism and follow applicable governance and interoperability standards when sharing information. This approach is intended to allow government institutions to exchange data while maintaining defined controls around ownership, classification, security and lawful access.
Data privacy, sovereignty, open data, cross-border transfers and Artificial Intelligence are also addressed within the proposed policy. The framework states that government data should remain under Pakistan’s lawful authority and that cross-border transfers should be treated as an exception requiring specific governance, justification and safeguards. It also provides for citizen rights concerning access, correction, portability and erasure of personal data, while establishing requirements for responsible handling of public information. Artificial Intelligence is included as another area requiring governance, with government data used to train, fine-tune, validate or operate AI systems subject to requirements covering lawful use, classification, provenance, quality, residency and privacy-enhancing technologies. The policy further proposes an AI-ready data programme to support safe and effective AI use across the public sector. These provisions place data management and AI governance within the same wider framework as Pakistan continues to develop its digital public infrastructure.
The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) will play a central role in implementing and overseeing the policy after its finalization. According to the framework, PDA will oversee the National Data Catalogue, National Data Exchange, National Open Data Portal, compliance and audits, capacity building and other supporting mechanisms. The authority will also designate a National Chief Data Officer to coordinate implementation across government, while public bodies covered by the policy will designate Agency Chief Data Officers responsible for areas including data inventories, metadata, quality, lawful use, incident reporting and compliance. The framework proposes a phased implementation model based on the capacity of public institutions, supporting instruments and priorities set through a National Data Strategy. PDA will also establish the National Data Maturity Index to assess data governance across areas such as quality, security, sharing, openness and institutional capability. Stakeholder feedback from the latest consultation will be incorporated before the policy is finalized, after which the government will move toward implementing the national framework across relevant public-sector institutions.
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