Press Release
A national digital agenda is only as strong as the provinces that implement it.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, accompanied by Federal Secretary IT and Telecom Zarrar Hasham Khan, Chairperson of the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) Dr Sohail Munir, and CEO Ignite, Bilal Abbasi, met Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to discuss the Digital Nation Pakistan framework, the National Digital Commission (NDC), the National Digital Masterplan, data governance, and the alignment of Sindh's digital initiatives with the national digital agenda.
Joining the Chief Minister were his Special Assistant on IT Ali Rashid, Secretary to CM Asif Jameel, Secretary IT Agha Sohail and CEO SITC Zain-ul-Abedin Shah and others.
The briefing set out the PDA's responsibility under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025: preparing the National Digital Masterplan, and the country's digital public infrastructure, data governance and AI frameworks.
More than 100 digital platforms now run nationwide, over 50 of them in Sindh, among them SRB e-Services, Sindh Zameen, E-Pay Sindh, E-Office, the Sindh Job Portal and Safe City. The gap is not effort. It is interoperability. The case was made for integration through WASL, Pakistan's National Data Exchange Layer, and for institutionalising the work through dedicated Digital, Data and AI offices, with the Rules of Business, procurement procedures and planning frameworks updated to match.
The Chief Minister welcomed the initiative and confirmed Sindh will review the draft National Digital Masterplan and submit its input. He was clear that any data-sharing framework must preserve provincial ownership and control, and directed the Information Science and Technology Department to complete consultations with PDA.
PDA is committed to designing and implementing Pakistan's digital transformation with the people who will deliver it. That intent makes a masterplan something that the provinces will own. Read more: Associated Press of Pakistan