Pakistan lays digital foundations for faster economic growth

Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the LEAP 2026 conference that Pakistan is building a national digital stack on open-source technology, and plans to share it without payment with frontier and emerging nations when finished. According to Mettis Global, she framed the effort as a way to generate wealth, reinforce economic independence and speed up development, rather than simply modernise government systems.

Khawaja cited recent laws such as the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, alongside a national AI policy, which she said are designed to back the tech ecosystem while protecting ethics, security and sovereignty. Changes to right-of-way rules are meant to encourage fibre links and broadband use, while Pakistan has held what she termed the largest spectrum auction in the world, with 480 megahertz on offer. Two new submarine cables have landed in the country, and the deployment of the spectrum that has just been released is already under way.

Khawaja named connectivity, policy continuity and business competitiveness as the three main challenges, crediting the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) with supporting policy continuity. For technology firms dealing with tax problems, the government has set up special technology zones with tax-free status for 10 years. She added that Pakistan's population of 240 million, more than 150 million of them under 30, means the country cannot afford slow progress.