By Attia Naveed
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has called for the systematic integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Pakistan’s national development agenda, announcing the launch of a national AI fund to back innovation and pilot projects across various sectors.
Chairing a meeting of the National Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, the minister emphasized that AI’s adoption must be a coordinated, cross-sectoral effort, not an isolated initiative. The task force, established in April 2023, is working on a 10-year roadmap to accelerate AI deployment across the country.
The initiative aims to embed AI across twelve strategic sectors, including education, healthcare, agriculture, climate change, governance, and business. Each sector will form a multi-stakeholder working group—bringing together experts from the government, academia, and private sector—to create tailored AI roadmaps with clear goals, deadlines, and resource plans.
اہم پیش رفت: پروفیسر احسن اقبال کی زیر صدارت مصنوعی ذہانت پر نیشنل ٹاسک فورس کا اجلاس۔
اجلاس میں AI کو قومی ترقیاتی حکمت عملی کا حصہ بنانے، اور تمام اہم شعبوں میں اس کے عملی انضمام کی ہدایات جاری کی گئیں۔
وفاقی وزیر نے 12 اہم شعبوں (تعلیم، صحت، زراعت، موسمیاتی تبدیلی،… pic.twitter.com/7zW4wrxndw
— Ministry of Planning and Development (@PlanComPakistan) July 3, 2025
To foster innovation, Iqbal announced the creation of a national AI fund to support high-impact ideas and experimental projects. He also directed the mapping of AI talent, research centers, and institutional resources to optimize knowledge sharing and deployment.
Additionally, the minister instructed the task force to hold a national AI workshop in collaboration with P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association) and other industry bodies. The event will serve as a platform to promote industry-academia-government dialogue and design practical AI solutions aligned with Pakistan’s needs.
Iqbal’s commitment to tech-driven development isn’t new. Last year, he inaugurated an international conference on 3D printing and vacuum technology at the National Centre for Physics, urging researchers to lead Pakistan into the future through science and innovation.