In a recent stakeholder dialogue on artificial intelligence hosted by IRADA with the technical assistance of IMS, participants emphasized that while the government is showing intent to develop policies for emerging technologies, Pakistan still faces considerable challenges in keeping pace with the rapidly evolving global AI landscape. The event brought together key voices from the country’s private tech sector, AI startups, and legal circles to identify both opportunities and pressing roadblocks in the current AI ecosystem.
Muhammad Aftab Alam, Executive Director of IRADA, noted that with over 200 AI-driven startups and an estimated $100 million market, the private sector in Pakistan is playing a central role in innovation. However, he stressed that this growth is happening in the absence of clear policy direction, making structured dialogue among stakeholders essential. Salwa Rana, Program Manager at IRADA, highlighted findings from the organization’s latest research, pointing out that Pakistan’s legal and regulatory frameworks are not adequately prepared to handle the complex dimensions of AI. Issues such as data governance, liability, and ownership of AI-generated content remain unresolved and require urgent attention.
Moderated by Moaz Bangu, the dialogue referenced best practices from regional players such as India and UAE, offering valuable insights for Pakistan. A structured five-step approach was introduced—Find the Friction, Reframe the Challenge, Align Interests, Model the Fix, and Execute Next Moves—to identify actionable solutions. These included proposals for regulatory sandboxes to enable innovation, standardized intellectual property clauses for AI-generated works, and more robust policies for data management and access.
Participants acknowledged a number of systemic hurdles. Shahzar Ali from Enablify AI noted that one of the biggest challenges in developing indigenous AI models is the lack of structured, digitized data. Most data exists in informal formats, stored offline, making it both inaccessible and unusable for training local AI systems. He pointed out that the process of digitization requires investment in both time and infrastructure, which Pakistan has yet to fully commit to.
Haroon Wajid, co-founder of Eynvision, spoke about the urgent need to incorporate AI-focused content into national educational curricula. He emphasized that the absence of courses on AI and other emerging technologies leaves a gap in preparing a skilled workforce. Similarly, Manahil Kashif from Atom Camp emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in building training programs that foster technical skills and capacity development in AI.
The event closed with participants expressing a unified interest in driving deeper engagement between civil society, the tech sector, and public institutions. The aim is to develop pragmatic, actionable policy recommendations that reflect on-the-ground realities and are capable of supporting sustainable growth in AI development across the country.
