Pakistan Digital Authority Chairperson Dr. Sohail Munir met Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan for a focused consultation on the Draft National Data Governance Policy 2026, describing the federation of Pakistan’s data architecture as a national priority. The chairperson led the discussion alongside Chief DPI Officer Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, Executive Directors Fouad Bajwa and Brigadier Aqeel Ahmed, Director Moazzam Kamran, and Director AICU at the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Muhammad Yawar Jaleel.
The discussion centered on a central question of how Pakistan can make its data work more effectively for citizens, businesses and the economy. Rather than proposing a single national database, the draft policy calls for a federation of data systems, in which custody of data remains with the body that lawfully collects it, connected through common standards and governed exchange rather than pooled into one central repository. This architecture is intended to enable a once only principle, under which a citizen or business would not have to submit the same information to the state more than once, reducing repetitive documentation and simplifying access to public services.
For the Ministry of Commerce specifically, officials said the policy could help transform digital trade services, strengthen trade intelligence, improve institutional interoperability, reduce documentation and repetitive processes, and simplify services for exporters, importers and small and medium enterprises. The meeting also covered related themes including data sovereignty, privacy, responsible access to non personal data, Primary Data Registers, artificial intelligence, and opportunities for stronger collaboration between PDA and the National Compliance Centre under the Ministry of Commerce.
Officials framed the broader ambition as a progression from fragmented data toward trusted data infrastructure, then intelligence, and ultimately innovation, productivity and economic value. According to PDA, Pakistan does not need to consolidate all its data in one place, but rather needs to make existing data systems work together through infrastructure that connects what already exists, paired with governance built on authoritative sources, lawful and purpose bound data exchange, common standards, and clearly defined rights that citizens can exercise over their own information.
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