Govt plans National Digital Masterplan

September 29, 2026 (MLN): The federal government is advancing a National Digital Masterplan focused on digital governance, digital economy and digital society as Pakistan seeks to expand technology-driven growth and improve public services.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Division Senator Ahad Khan Cheema said efforts would be made to place the Masterplan before the upcoming meeting of provincial chief ministers with the Prime Minister for discussion.

The minister made the remarks while chairing a meeting on the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), attended by Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja, PDA Chairman Dr. Sohail Munir and officials from relevant departments.

The proposed framework is based on three pillars:

• Digital governance
• Digital economy
• Digital society

Senator Ahad Khan Cheema said digitalization and artificial intelligence-driven transformation should produce tangible outcomes across government and contribute to economic growth.

The Pakistan Digital Authority is preparing sector-specific plans covering areas including health, education, commerce and other government functions.

Digital skills to be expanded

The government is also considering a structured roadmap to introduce modern digital and AI-related skills through educational institutions.

The proposed approach would extend digital and AI education to younger students, including those at the primary and middle-school levels.

The objective is to equip students with skills relevant to a technology-driven economy through formal education and updated learning practices.

Unified healthcare records

Healthcare digitization also featured prominently in the discussions.

The meeting considered the development of unified patient records and a national registry containing clinical histories and treatment information from public and private hospitals.

A computerized, CNIC-based system could allow patient records to be accessed across healthcare facilities, potentially improving continuity of treatment and reducing fragmentation in medical records.

The government is also considering greater coordination of data and registries across sectors to allow institutions to access reliable and verified information for public-service planning.

AI experts in government

The PDA highlighted the need for dedicated AI experts and digitally literate focal persons across ministries and government divisions.

Existing government employees working on IT-related responsibilities could be trained for these roles.

The Establishment Division also has a pool of personnel made available through the introduction of e-Office, some of whom could potentially be trained and deployed to support the government’s digitalization programme.

The PDA will work with the National Information Technology Board (NITB) on training and digital-capacity development.

The government has also held consultations with provincial IT departments and other stakeholders as it works toward a national digital framework while maintaining provincial jurisdictions.

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