The Pakistan Digital Authority is positioned to become the country’s most powerful digital governance institution under the proposed National Data Governance Policy 2026, with far-reaching powers to regulate, monitor, and enforce data governance standards across all federal public bodies. The policy, prepared by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, designates the Pakistan Digital Authority as the central national authority responsible for issuing binding standards, overseeing their implementation, and ensuring compliance across the federal government once the framework receives Cabinet approval and is published in the official Gazette.
Among the most significant powers proposed under the policy is the Pakistan Digital Authority’s ability to issue binding directions to ministries, departments, and public-sector entities to compel compliance with the national data governance framework. Beyond enforcement, the authority would also oversee the National Open Data Portal, supervise the National Data Exchange known as WASL, maintain the National Data Catalogue, and conduct periodic audits to evaluate whether public bodies are meeting the required data governance standards. These functions together would give the authority a central role not only in setting rules but in actively monitoring and auditing how data is managed across the entire federal government apparatus.
At the institutional level, the policy proposes that every federal public body appoint an Agency Chief Data Officer who would be responsible for implementing the policy within their respective organisation, maintaining data inventories, ensuring the lawful use of data, and reporting compliance status and incidents directly to the Pakistan Digital Authority. The policy also proposes the creation of a National Data Governance Council, to be chaired by the Pakistan Digital Authority, with representation drawn from federal and provincial governments, sectoral regulators, and other relevant stakeholders. This council is envisioned as the country’s highest forum for coordinating and harmonising data governance across different tiers and sectors of government.
To track progress and identify gaps, the Pakistan Digital Authority would also be tasked with establishing and publishing a National Data Maturity Index on an annual basis, assessing how effectively public bodies are managing data and using the findings to guide corrective action and set future priorities. Persistent non-compliance by public bodies could result in enforcement action under applicable laws. The policy does, however, draw a distinction between public-sector data governance and personal data protection, noting that responsibility for safeguarding individual data rights will remain with whichever authority is designated under Pakistan’s future personal data protection legislation, keeping those two regulatory functions separate rather than consolidating them under the Pakistan Digital Authority.
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