Pakistan's National AI Policy 2025: A Deep Dive
In 2025, Pakistan is making a decisive leap into the future with its first-ever National Artificial Intelligence Policy, a comprehensive roadmap designed to harness this transformative technology for economic growth and digital inclusion. The plan is ambitious, focusing on building a skilled workforce, fostering innovation, and integrating AI across key public and private sectors, all while navigating significant infrastructure and regulatory challenges.
For a quick overview, the table below summarizes the core pillars of the government's AI strategy.
| Policy Pillar | Key Initiatives & Targets |
|---|---|
| Education & Workforce Development | Train 1 million AI professionals by 2030; offer 3,000 annual AI scholarships; create 10,000 AI trainers. |
| Innovation & Startups | Establish an AI Innovation Fund and an AI Venture Fund; support the development of 1,000 local AI products and 50,000 civic AI projects. |
| Infrastructure & Research | Set up a network of Centres of Excellence (CoE-AI) in major cities; allocate 2,000 MW of electricity for tech uses like AI data centres. |
| Governance & Ethics | Strengthen data protection and cybersecurity for AI systems; align regulations with global standards; ensure ethical and responsible AI use. |
👑š€ Government Plans and Vision
The National AI Policy 2025, approved by the federal cabinet in July 2025, is a cornerstone of Pakistan's "Digital Pakistan" agenda. The vision is to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy by building a complete AI ecosystem.
Ambitious National Goals: The policy sets clear and bold targets. Beyond training a million citizens, it aims for 90% public awareness of AI by 2026 and plans to launch tens of thousands of AI-driven public service projects in areas like healthcare, agriculture, and e-governance. A key goal is to develop a Pakistani large language model and other culturally-aware AI tools.
Structured Implementation: Oversight will be handled by a central AI Council chaired by the federal IT minister, with members from academia, industry, and civil society. The policy also creates a National AI Fund (NAIF), ring-fencing capital to support startups, research, and innovation. A network of Centres of Excellence (CoE-AI) will be established across the country to act as regional hubs for research, training, and incubation.
👑’¡ Opportunities on the Horizon
This national push unlocks significant opportunities for Pakistan's economy and its people.
Economic Growth and Global Competitiveness: Pakistan's AI market is projected to grow rapidly, with one analysis forecasting the sector to reach ~$3.23 billion by 2030. This growth isn't confined to the tech sector; AI is expected to boost productivity in traditional industries like agriculture and manufacturing, making Pakistani businesses more competitive globally.
A Thriving Tech Ecosystem: For startups and investors, the policy is a strong positive signal. The creation of state-backed venture funds and specialized incubators provides much-needed capital and support structure for AI-driven businesses. This is already attracting attention, with over 100 Pakistani tech companies participating in international events like LEAP 2025 and generating millions in business opportunities.
Job Creation and Youth Empowerment: With over 60% of its population being young, a major goal of the policy is to create high-value employment. The plan to generate 20,000 annual AI internships will provide crucial hands-on experience, empowering the youth to not just be consumers of technology, but creators and innovators in the global digital economy.
👑›‘ Challenges to Address
Despite the ambitious vision, Pakistan faces several hurdles in turning its AI policy into reality.
Infrastructure and Resource Gaps: A major challenge is the lack of AI-ready data centres and limited computing infrastructure, which can slow down development and adoption. While the government has pledged 2,000 MW of power for tech uses, consistent energy supply and high-speed internet access, especially in rural areas, remain concerns.
Implementation and Regulatory Hurdles: Experts caution that the policy's sheer ambition could be a risk, warning against trying to do too much without clear priorities. A critical bottleneck will be creating the 10,000 AI trainers needed to achieve the million-person training goal. Developing concrete regulations for data privacy and preventing algorithmic bias, even though the policy stresses ethics, is still a work in progress.
Inclusion and Collaboration: Ensuring that the benefits of AI reach everyone, including women, people with disabilities, and those in remote regions, is a stated goal that will require dedicated effort. Success will also depend on effective coordination between various government ministries, academia, and the private sector, which has been a noted challenge in past policymaking.
The journey for Pakistan is to navigate these challenges with focused execution. If the policy is implemented effectively, it has the potential to usher in a new era of innovation and position Pakistan as a competitive player in the global AI landscape.
