Top Level Committee Formed to Make Pakistan Digital

The government of Pakistan has formed a committee that’s tasked to work on emerging technologies and promote the growth of the IT sector. Apparently this committee will be responsible for the to-do-list of “Digital Pakistan”, a campaign that Prime Minister launched a few days ago.

This committee comprises of members from both the public and private sectors. Dr. Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan, is going to be the Chief Patron of the committee while Dr. Khalid Maqbool, Minister for IT and Telecom will be the chairperson of the committee.

According to details, the committee will work in the following areas of the IT sector:

• Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
• Cloud Computing and Networking
• Blockchain, Distributed Ledger, Cryptocurrencies and Digital Payments
• Software
• Silicon Chip Design and Manufacturing
• Broadband and Internet of Things
• Digitalization of Government, including digital identification machines and voting technology
• Cyber tools and apps particularly in education, health, population planning, bio-technology, e-commerce, e-education and e-tourism
• Virtual and Augmented Reality
• Cyber Security
• Data ownership, data security and legislation
• Any other matters connected to emerging technologies

We are yet unclear if this committee is going to do the policymaking only or if it will oversee the implementation of all the above-mentioned projects as well.

In addition to President of Pakistan and Minister of IT and Telecom, other members of the committee include:

• President of Pakistan – Chief Patron
• Federal Minister of IT and Telecom – Chairperson
• Federal Secretary, MoIT – Member / Secretary
• Members:
  • Provincial Secretary, Punjab
  • Provincial Secretary, Sindh
  • Provincial Secretary, KPK
  • Provincial Secretary, GB
  • Provincial Secretary, Balochistan
  • Provincial Secretary, AJK
  • Director General (Technical), ISI
  • CEO NITB
  • Tania Aidrus
  • Prof. Saad Ahmad Qazi
  • Mr. Ayub Khan
  • Mr. Azhar Zia Ur Rehman
  • Mr. Azhar Rizvi
  • Mr. Salman Ansari
  • Mr. Shahzad Shahid
  • Mr. Asif Peer
  • Mr. Khursheed Shah
  • Mr. Suleman Mehdi
  • Mr. Naeem Ashraf Rana
  • Mr. Hassan Syed
  • Syed. Feroze Shah
  • Dr. Ali Ahmed