The Pakistan Software Houses Association has extended the application deadline for the 22nd edition of the P@SHA ICT Awards 2026 to August 15, following what the association described as an overwhelming response from applicants across the country. The awards, now in their twenty second year, remain free to apply for and open to participants from across Pakistan’s technology ecosystem, spanning startups, established enterprises, students, women led businesses and public sector innovators.
The extension follows an earlier deadline that had already been pushed back once, from July 30 to August 10, before being extended a second time to accommodate continued interest from applicants. The awards are structured around ten core categories and forty one sub and cross categories, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, cybersecurity, health technology, cloud computing, digital government, sustainability, enterprise solutions and several other domains relevant to Pakistan’s broader technology sector. The awards are organised under five head categories covering consumer technology, inclusion and community, industrial applications, public sector innovation and business services, alongside a dedicated student category, a services category, and additional technology and cross categories that can only be applied to through one of the five head categories.
Applications submitted through the awards platform will be evaluated through what the association describes as a transparent, merit based judging process conducted by an independent panel of national and international experts drawn from industry, academia, entrepreneurship and technology. Finalists will be announced ahead of the P@SHA ICT Awards Night, scheduled to take place in September in Karachi, where industry leaders, policymakers, investors, development partners and technology professionals are expected to gather to recognise the country’s leading digital achievements for the year. The event has long served as one of the more prominent recognition platforms within Pakistan’s information technology and information technology enabled services sector.
A central feature of the awards is their role as the sole gateway for Pakistani technology products and services to compete at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards, an international competition bringing together participants from seventeen member economies across the region. Winners and runners up from the P@SHA ICT Awards will go on to represent Pakistan at the regional competition, scheduled to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, giving successful applicants an opportunity for international recognition alongside networking, mentorship and investment related opportunities that have historically followed strong performances at the awards.
Applicants interested in submitting entries before the extended deadline can review eligibility criteria, award categories and submission guidelines through the official P@SHA ICT Awards platform, along with a separate video outlining the application and pitching criteria and process for prospective entrants. The association has continued to position the awards as Pakistan’s premier technology recognition event, with this year’s edition placing particular emphasis on artificial intelligence enabled products and solutions, reflecting the growing role that artificial intelligence has come to play across the broader technology sector both in Pakistan and internationally.
