Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chaired a meeting to review progress on the country's Information Technology (IT) Strategic Roadmap and commended the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication for achieving a 21 per cent increase in annual IT exports, which reached $4.6 billion.
The Prime Minister said the remarkable growth in IT exports was the result of the government's policies and initiatives aimed at strengthening Pakistan's digital economy. He reiterated that promoting the IT sector and enhancing technology-related exports remained among the government's top priorities.
He directed the authorities to ensure credible third-party validation of all IT training programmes, emphasizing that no compromise would be made on the quality of training. The Prime Minister also instructed officials to further improve digital infrastructure across the country.
The meeting was briefed on the performance of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
Officials informed the meeting that mobile spectrum availability had increased from 274 MHz in June 2025 to 880 MHz by June 2026, which would significantly improve internet speed and connectivity across Pakistan.
The Prime Minister was also briefed on preparations for the launch of the "Connect Pakistan Vision 2030."
The meeting was informed that the Software Technology Park in Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, had been completed, while smartphone penetration in Pakistan had increased from 62 per cent in 2024 to 72 per cent by June 2026.
Officials said that fixed broadband and fibre connections had reached 5.1 million households by June 2026. Freelancers contributed $1.1647 billion to the country's IT exports during the last fiscal year.
The meeting was further informed that 130 government services had been digitized under the Digital Nation Pakistan initiative. During the last fiscal year, 942,646 training certificates were issued in the IT sector, including 5,053 high-end training programmes and 2,700 leadership and soft skills training sessions.
The Prime Minister was informed that the Women Innovation and Startup Empowerment Lab would be inaugurated shortly.
The meeting was also told that under a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese technology company Alibaba, several ministries and government institutions were implementing artificial intelligence (AI) projects and conducting training programmes. AI initiatives are currently under way at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Ministry of Railways, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Ministry of National Food Security, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), Pakistan Single Window, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Pakistan Post, Capital Development Authority (CDA), Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmad and senior government officials.