Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, chaired a meeting of the National Taskforce on Artificial Intelligence (AI), where he called for a detailed and inclusive national approach to integrate AI across Pakistan’s development sectors.
Recognizing the growing global investment in AI, the Minister emphasized that it is time that Pakistan should move with clarity and purpose. He stated that AI adoption cannot be advanced in isolation and must instead be guided by cross-sectoral collaboration, alignment with national priorities, and effective coordination across all relevant institutions.
To support this direction, the Taskforce was assigned a clear mandate to identify twelve key sectors, including education, health, agriculture, climate, business, and governance where AI applications can generate measurable national benefits.
Each sector will establish a multi-stakeholder working group, comprising experts from government, academia, and the private sector. These groups will develop sector-specific AI roadmaps, with defined objectives, timelines, and resource requirements. The purpose is to ensure that Pakistan not only aligns with global technological trends but also maximizes the utility of AI in solving domestic challenges.
To encourage innovation and reduce funding-related barriers, the Planning Minister directed for establishing a National AI Fund. This fund will support high-potential ideas and pilot projects related to Artificial intelligence.
The Minister also called for a comprehensive mapping exercise to assess the availability of AI-related talent and resources across Pakistan. This will include universities, research centers, and industry actors, with the aim of deploying these assets in a strategic and coordinated manner.
In order to bring key stakeholders together, the Minister instructed the Taskforce to organize a national AI workshop in collaboration with PASHA and other relevant industry bodies. The workshop will provide a platform for dialogue between government, academia, and industry, and will focus on designing practical AI solutions tailored to Pakistan’s development context.
The meeting was attended by Minister of State for IT & Telecommunication, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja; Dr. Yasar Ayaz, Project Director of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence; senior officials from the Ministry of IT, NADRA, PASHA; and leading private sector representatives.
It is worth noting that under the Prime Minister’s vision and the leadership of the Planning Minister, Pakistan has already made significant progress in this domain. The government has established nine Centers of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Cloud Computing, Robotics, Quantum Computing etc in major universities and has also initiated the Quantum Valley Pakistan initiative to build future capabilities in frontier technologies.
These steps reflect Pakistan’s firm commitment to playing a responsible role in the global AI landscape through innovation, collaboration, and inclusive governance.
