Pakistan Digital Authority hosted Captain (Retired) Muhammad Asif, Managing Director of the Printing Corporation of Pakistan, to review progress on the Digital Gazette of Pakistan, an initiative aimed at bringing the country’s official government record online. The Gazette of Pakistan serves as the government’s authoritative record of laws, ordinances, regulations, notifications, and appointments, and has traditionally been published and distributed in physical form through the Printing Corporation of Pakistan.
The discussion focused on advancing the digitisation of Gazette records, strengthening collaboration between the two organisations, and finalising the implementation roadmap for the project. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to building a modern Digital Gazette that improves public access to official records and supports broader efforts toward transparent digital governance. Bringing the Gazette online is intended to create a searchable, easily accessible platform, replacing a system in which official notifications and appointments have historically been difficult for ordinary citizens to locate or verify without direct access to physical archives.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to accelerate technical coordination between the two organisations and move to the next phase of implementation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Law and Justice, which oversees the legal framework governing the Gazette’s publication. Pakistan Digital Authority Chairperson Doctor Sohail Munir has previously described the authority’s approach as a Digital Public Infrastructure first policy, under which shared foundational systems, including digital identity, payments, and data exchange, are meant to underpin projects across different government sectors rather than each ministry building disconnected, standalone systems.
The Printing Corporation of Pakistan, established in 1969 through the merger of government printing presses in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Dhaka, remains the state owned entity responsible for printing official documents including gazettes, ballot papers, and passports, operating printing presses in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. Digitising the Gazette would mark a significant shift for an institution that has historically relied on physical printing and distribution as its core function.
The initiative adds to a series of engagements Pakistan Digital Authority has pursued with various government bodies since its establishment under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025, as the authority continues working to build out the technical and institutional foundations needed to implement the National Digital Master Plan. Officials described digitising the Gazette as a meaningful step toward more accessible digital governance, positioning the initiative as part of a broader effort to modernise how citizens interact with and verify Pakistan’s official government records.
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