Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to further improve digital infrastructure across the country. He was chairing a review meeting on the implementation of the strategic roadmap for the Information Technology sector in Islamabad on Thursday. The Prime Minister emphasized that promoting the IT sector and enhancing IT-related exports are among the government's top priorities. He insisted that all IT training courses must undergo credible third-party validation, stressing that there will be no compromise on the quality of training.
According to Radio Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif praised the Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications and the entire team for achieving Pakistan's annual IT exports of 4.6 billion dollars, marking a 21 percent increase. He attributed the remarkable growth in IT exports to the government's policies aimed at promoting the digital economy. The meeting was informed that mobile spectrum availability increased from 274 megahertz in June last year to 880 megahertz in June this year, which is 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. Additionally, the meeting highlighted the completion of the Software Technology Park in Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It was noted that smartphone usage in Pakistan is projected to increase from 62 percent in 2024 to 72 percent by June 2026, while 5.1 million households are expected to have fixed broadband or fiber connections by June 2026.
The meeting was informed that, due to government initiatives, freelancers contributed over one billion dollars to the country's IT exports during the last fiscal year. Furthermore, 130 government services have been digitized under the Digital Nation Pakistan initiative. The meeting also revealed that 942,646 training certificates were issued in the IT sector during the last fiscal year, alongside five thousand and fifty-three high-end training programmes and 2,700 leadership and soft skills training sessions conducted.
The Prime Minister was further updated that the Women Innovation and Startup Empowerment Lab will be inaugurated soon. Additionally, under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese company Alibaba, artificial intelligence is being implemented in several federal ministries and institutions. The AI-related projects and training sessions are currently underway in the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Ministry of Railways, the State Bank of Pakistan, and various other governmental bodies.
