TLDR: Pakistan has officially approved its first-ever National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025, aiming to responsibly harness AI across various sectors and generations. The policy, developed through an inclusive multi-stakeholder process, focuses on building an innovation ecosystem, expanding national AI readiness, ensuring ethical and transparent AI governance, driving AI-led transformation, establishing digital foundations, and fostering international partnerships to create an equitable and inclusive digital future for all citizens.
In a landmark move towards embracing the digital age, Pakistan has officially approved its National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025 in July 2025, marking a significant step towards a transformative and ethical future. This comprehensive framework is designed to responsibly integrate AI across diverse sectors and generations, ensuring that the benefits of this powerful technology are accessible and equitable for all. The policy is structured around six interconnected pillars, aiming to foster a robust AI ecosystem within the country. These pillars include: building an innovation ecosystem to nurture AI research, startups, and venture capital; expanding national awareness and readiness through large-scale skilling and public sector training; securing AI through ethical frameworks, data sovereignty, and transparent governance; driving AI-led transformation across key sectors; laying a strong digital foundation with investments in high-performance computing, local large language models, and national AI data repositories; and forging international partnerships and collaboration to align with global standards and attract ethical AI investment.
The development of the National AI Policy was a highly inclusive and iterative process, guided by the Chair of the National AI Policy Committee. It involved a broad spectrum of stakeholders from across Pakistan, including government institutions, private technology firms, academia, civil society, and the armed forces. This collaborative approach ensured that diverse voices contributed to the policy’s vision and details, with the Ministry of IT and Telecom anchoring the effort and Minister of State Shaza Fatima Khawaja playing a pivotal role in securing cabinet approval. Feedback from various entities such as HEC, FBR, PEMRA, PTA, provincial IT boards, universities, and industry partners like JAZZ, OICCI, GSMA, Google, and UNESCO was actively incorporated, enhancing the policy’s relevance and ambition. A committee member from Balochistan notably emphasized the policy’s impact, stating, “This policy will matter when our girls can code in Khuzdar,” highlighting the commitment to widespread inclusion.
The policy envisions a future where AI-led transformation improves public service delivery through predictive analytics, provides farmers with climate-smart tools, and extends health diagnostics to rural clinics via AI-backed platforms. It emphasizes that while AI is a force multiplier for development—capable of boosting agricultural yields, identifying learning gaps, supporting financial inclusion, and enabling transparent governance—technology alone is not a solution. It must be matched with public values, institutional readiness, and civic trust. To this end, the policy proposes an open-source AI governance framework, regulatory sandboxes, and a national registry for public sector AI tools, underscoring ethics, transparency, and human oversight.
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Globally, the push for responsible AI governance is gaining momentum. The European Union’s AI Act, with obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models entering into application on August 2, 2025, exemplifies a risk-based approach to AI regulation. Similarly, the United States and China have unveiled their own AI action plans, with the U.S. focusing on accelerating innovation and asserting international leadership, and China advocating for joint development, safe and equitable AI, and inclusive global governance through initiatives like its “Action Plan on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence.” The 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai also highlighted the critical need for global consensus on AI control and use to harness its benefits while mitigating risks. The UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report 2025 further advocates for an “AI-for-all” approach, emphasizing global collaboration to ensure AI is accessible, equitable, and beneficial for everyone, particularly addressing the digital divide and promoting AI as a public good.
