At the GSMA Digital Nation Summit 2025, Telenor Pakistan underscored the importance of a stable, forward-looking policy framework and accelerated integration of artificial intelligence to propel the country’s digital development. Addressing the summit, Khurrum Ashfaque, CEO of Telenor Pakistan, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to inclusive digitalization and emphasized the transformative role AI can play in improving network efficiency, user experience, and service delivery nationwide. He noted that AI-driven capabilities such as predictive analytics and network optimization could enable more intelligent expansion of digital access.
Ashfaque described Pakistan as being at a critical juncture where a clear national digital direction, coupled with advances in connectivity and AI, could deliver significant socioeconomic benefits. He stressed the need to align on long-term priorities in areas like spectrum policy, technology adoption, and digital inclusion to ensure sustainable progress.
In a session dedicated to expanding future connectivity, Ahsan Maykan, Chief Marketing Officer at Telenor Pakistan, called for a national strategy to enable infrastructure sharing. He explained that shared access to towers, spectrum, and fibre infrastructure through public-private partnerships could reduce duplication, enhance cost efficiency, and improve network coverage in underserved regions. This approach, he said, could play a pivotal role in bridging Pakistan’s connectivity gap.
Participating in a panel discussion, Cynia Ejaz, Head of Corporate Innovation at Telenor Pakistan, highlighted the company’s ongoing initiatives to drive inclusive digital transformation. She discussed programs such as Easypaisa, which advances digital financial services; Khushal Watan, aimed at rural empowerment; Open Mind Pakistan, focused on inclusive employment; and Digital Birth Registration, which promotes identity access and social inclusion. Each initiative, she explained, is designed to empower communities, create economic opportunities, and foster long-term resilience through innovation.
The GSMA Digital Nation Summit brought together senior government representatives, industry leaders, and innovators to explore how emerging technologies, supportive policies, and people-centric solutions can work together to shape a more connected and empowered Pakistan. Telenor Pakistan’s participation reflected its vision of leveraging both technological innovation and collaborative policy-making to enhance national digital capacity and ensure equitable access to opportunities in the digital economy.
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