Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to further improve the country’s digital infrastructure, stressing that promotion of the information technology sector and enhancement of IT related exports remain among the government’s top priorities. The directive came as the prime minister chaired a review meeting in Islamabad on implementation of the strategic roadmap for the IT sector, during which he directed that all IT training courses undergo credible third party validation, stating there would be no compromise on training quality.
Shehbaz Sharif commended the Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication and the broader ministry team as Pakistan’s annual IT exports reached $4.6 billion, registering a 21 percent increase, describing the growth as a result of government policies aimed at promoting the digital economy. The meeting was informed that mobile spectrum availability had risen from 274 megahertz in June last year to 880 megahertz in June this year, a development expected to significantly improve internet speed and connectivity nationwide. The prime minister was also briefed on preparations for the launch of the Connect Pakistan Vision 2030 initiative, and was informed that the Software Technology Park in Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, had been completed.
Participants were told that smartphone usage in the country had climbed from 62 percent in 2024 to 72 percent by June 2026, while 5.1 million households had been provided fixed broadband or fiber connections during the same period. The briefing noted that freelancers had contributed more than $1 billion to the country’s IT exports during the last fiscal year, aided by government initiatives, while 130 government services had been digitized under the Digital Nation Pakistan initiative. The meeting was further told that 942,646 training certificates were issued in the IT sector during the last fiscal year, alongside 5,053 high end training programs and 2,700 leadership and soft skills training sessions, with the prime minister also updated on preparations to inaugurate the Women Innovation and Startup Empowerment Lab.
Participants were informed that, under a memorandum of understanding with Chinese company Alibaba, artificial intelligence is being implemented across several federal ministries and institutions, accompanied by a number of AI related projects and training sessions. These AI projects are currently underway at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Ministry of Railways, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Federal Board of Revenue, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, Pakistan Single Window, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Pakistan Post, the Capital Development Authority, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, and the Higher Education Commission, reflecting a broad push to integrate AI capabilities across the country’s public sector institutions.
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