The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and the @HealthSAcademy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for collaboration on stakeholder engagement, consultation, and technical dialogue in support of Pakistan's digital health standardisation and interoperability initiatives. The MoU was signed by Aamer Rana, Member, Pakistan Digital Authority, and Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan, Vice Chancellor, Health Services Academy. The partnership pairs PDA's mandate for national digital public infrastructure (DPI), data governance and whole-of-government digital transformation with HSA's expertise in public health, academic research and its reach across the health sector. Under the agreement, the two institutions will focus their collaboration on: • Mapping the stakeholders across Pakistan's digital health ecosystem, from regulators to providers. • ⁠Coordinating institutional outreach to healthcare organisations, academic institutions and professional bodies. • ⁠Exchanging knowledge and engaging with public and private healthcare stakeholders. • ⁠Strengthening consultation and technical coordination on digital health standardisation and interoperability. This sits within the wider Digital Nation Pakistan framework, with the aim of a more coordinated and collaborative approach to advancing Pakistan's digital health ecosystem. Interoperability in health is not something bolted on once the systems are built. It is the groundwork that decides whether those systems can ever work together, and getting it right is how a health system earns the trust of the people it is meant to serve.

The Prime Minister's Fuel Relief Programme is digital governance in practice, built to lift the weight of rising fuel prices off the shoulders of the people who feel every rupee of it. In a matter of weeks, Pakistan stood up a fuel-relief safety net that reached 12.2 million citizens, and it did so not by building new systems from the ground up but by drawing on the national digital rails that already exist. With more than 30 million tokens issued, we were able to soften the blow of rising fuel prices for the households that were feeling it most sharply, with ten institutions moving together as a single operation under the @MoitOfficial. The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) played a pivotal role in the programme, developing the end-to-end digital service on existing national rails: @NADRA for identity verification, @StateBank_Pak for digital payments, vehicle data from the Excise and Taxation departments, and fuel-station data from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the National Explosives and Petroleum Safety Agency (NEPSA). The credit for this sits squarely with the team, with the young engineers and the support staff across the PDA who stepped forward and volunteered their days and nights for an important cause, and with the PDA's executive leadership steering the operation from behind. Our warmest congratulations to Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, @ShazaFK, who has been announced to receive a national honour on Pakistan Day for her leadership on this programme. It is well deserved recognition, for a programme that showed what becomes possible when the state chooses to design around the citizen's needs. This is what digital public infrastructure looks like when it is put to work in the service of ordinary people, and it is the very advantage we intend to reap a hundredfold as we carry Pakistan's digital transformation forward.

Today, we extend our sincere appreciation to Mohammad J. Sear (@mjmsear), a founding Member of the Pakistan Digital Authority, as he prepares to relocate abroad to be with his family and begin an exciting new chapter. Since the Authority’s inception, Mohammad has been an integral part of its executive leadership, helping establish the foundations, shape key decisions, and guide its early operations. His expertise, thoughtful counsel, and commitment to innovation have made a lasting contribution to the Authority and the people working alongside him. His belief in reimagining how government serves its citizens has helped shape our approach to unlocking Pakistan’s digital potential. As Mohammad embarks on this next chapter, we thank him for his leadership, dedication, and invaluable contributions to the Pakistan Digital Authority. We wish him and his family every happiness and continued success in the years ahead. Once part of the PDA family, always part of the PDA family.

What should interacting with the government look like in a digital nation? That was one of the questions behind our recent Mixer at the Pakistan Digital Authority, hosted by Raheel Siddiqui, a young innovation leader and AI expert from Karachi. We welcomed a group of Gen Z future leaders for an evening of stories, perspectives and conversations about technology, public services and the future of Pakistan. For the Pakistan Digital Authority, listening is a key part of the government transformation process, because building a digital nation isn't only about technology.

Today is World Standards Day. Fittingly, earlier this week, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority - @theiana, the global body that manages how things are named and addressed on the internet, registered "dnp" as a formal URN namespace for the Pakistan Digital Authority. In plain terms, PDA can now give each standard it publishes a permanent identifier, a kind of ISBN for our documents, that always points to the exact text and edition, even if a website is rebuilt or a file moves. A standard is only useful if people can still find and cite it years from now. This makes sure they can. Setting national technology standards is part of PDA's mandate under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, 2025: the shared rules that let government systems work together and that citizens can rely on. Explore Pakistan's digital standards at standards.dnp.gov.pk #WorldStandardsDay

Global platforms serve a country best when their capabilities are aligned with its national interests. The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) hosted a delegation from @BytedanceTalk, the parent company of TikTok, at PDA Headquarters to explore where the two sides can work together in support of Pakistan's digital transformation. The meeting was chaired by Dr. @sohailmunir, Chairperson, PDA. The discussion covered government cloud and AI infrastructure, digital education, online safety, digital commerce and capacity building in the public sector. Both sides also considered how focused technical consultations and knowledge sharing could turn these into practical work, aligned to Pakistan's national digital priorities. The engagement reflects PDA's continued focus on exploring partnerships that can support digital governance, strengthen institutional capabilities and contribute to a more inclusive and innovative digital ecosystem.

On 10 October 2026, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) inaugurated the Islamabad IT Park, now named the Daanish IT Park, giving Pakistan's technology sector a landmark of its own in the capital. This is a major step toward strengthening the country's digital ecosystem and our congratulations to the Prime Minister and to @ShazaFK, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication. The park brings incubation centres, innovation hubs, startups, and industry leaders together under one roof, with a clear purpose: to equip young people with IT and AI skills, back new ideas, and help Pakistan compete in the global digital economy. At the inauguration, @sohailmunir, Chairperson, Pakistan Digital Authority, said that Digital Nation Pakistan was the Prime Minister's signature initiative and the Daanish IT Park is where that vision takes physical form, and part of how it is stewarded and steered from plan to delivery. He put the point plainly to the people the park is really for: "To the young Pakistanis writing code in Gilgit, Gwadar or Gujranwala, this is your address. Come and build here.” That is what a space like this is meant to do. It tells a developer in a small city that there is a place for their work in the national economy, and it gives the country's IT exports somewhere to grow from. The real measure of the Daanish IT Park will be the companies that start inside it and the exports that leave from it. For Pakistan's youth, its startups and its technology industry, that work begins now.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our team spent time learning what early detection really takes, from the warning signs to self-examination and screening. Our thanks to Dr. Nida Farrukh, Consultant Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon at Pakistan Air Force Hospital, Islamabad, for giving us her time and her expertise. The conversation she led is one every workplace should be having. To the women who keep PDA moving: your health comes first. Please don't put off the check that matters. #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth

Identity, payments and data exchange are national systems, but the thinking behind them travels. The rails one country lays can show another what is possible. The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) hosted the Bangladesh NextGen Leaders Delegation at PDA Headquarters for an exchange on digital transformation, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the future of citizen-centric digital services. @sohailmunir, Chairperson, PDA, briefed the delegation on PDA's mandate and its focus on Digital Society, Digital Economy and Digital Governance, including Pakistan's work on the National Digital Masterplan, Digital Public Infrastructure, national technology standards and whole-of-government digital transformation. The discussion covered Pakistan's core DPI: PakID for digital identity, Raast for instant payments, and WASL for secure, consent-based data exchange. The two sides also explored where Pakistan and Bangladesh can learn from one another, in digital identity, interoperable payments, data exchange and digital governance. Digital infrastructure is built in the open and conversations like this are how that knowledge crosses borders.

Disease surveillance is only as fast as the systems that feed it. An outbreak is caught early when health information can move securely between the institutions that hold it. On that premise, the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) hosted a delegation from the @CDCgov (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) at PDA Headquarters to explore how the two sides can work together on Pakistan's digital health ecosystem. The meeting was chaired by @sohailmunir, Chairperson, PDA, with senior representatives of PDA and the US CDC, including Dr. Elisabeth Hesse, Country Director, US CDC Pakistan Office, and Dr. Muhammad Afzal, Global Health Security Advisor. PDA and the US CDC identified several areas to take forward together: • Health data interoperability and secure exchange between institutions • National digital health standards and data governance • Health information systems and agreed minimum health data sets • Infectious disease surveillance and early detection • AI-enabled analytics for disease detection and response • Integration of human and animal health data where relevant • Technical collaboration and capacity building PDA briefed the delegation on the National Digital Masterplan, the Digital Health Sector Plan, and the proposed national health data exchange framework, and explained how it sets the standards, interoperability frameworks and governance that let health information move securely across federal and provincial systems. The two sides also discussed PDA's work with the National Institute of Health (NIH), including the National Health Data Centre and the use of AI-based analytics to sharpen disease surveillance. Both agreed to maintain regular coordination and explore opportunities where US CDC technical expertise can support this work. Building a health ecosystem where information moves securely between institutions is not something any one of them does alone. What turns scattered records into early warning is the ability of connected systems to work as one, and strengthening that capability is what brought the US CDC to PDA Headquarters.

Every tap, every login, every message you send is part of Pakistan's growing digital life. And protecting it doesn't start with complex systems or large institutions. It starts with you. The steps in this video take under a minute. That minute is often the only thing standing between your family's information and someone who wants to misuse it. Small, consistent actions are what keep our collective digital space safe. As more of our lives move online, cybersecurity becomes a shared responsibility. When each citizen takes these simple precautions, we build a safer, stronger and more trusted digital Pakistan together. This #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth, your awareness and caution protects more than just you.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. For the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), it is a moment to state plainly where cybersecurity sits in Digital Nation Pakistan: at the foundation. As more public services move online, cyber threats move with them. Security has to be designed into a system from the outset. We recognise the need to protect and strengthen the country's digital systems and infrastructure, and are working to make every national platform secure by design. People use the digital services they trust. Security is how that trust is earned, and how it is kept. #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth

Digital accessibility is not just about compliance it is about ensuring every citizen can access government services independently, with dignity and confidence. The Citizen Experience team at PDA has recently conducted a Digital Accessibility Feedback Session with persons with visual, low-vision, and hearing disabilities, with the support of @DeafTawk, who helped us engage and arrange participants for the session. The session highlighted practical challenges including inaccessible documents, poor screen-reader compatibility, missing captions, low contrast, and limited accessible customer-support channels. These insights will help us strengthen accessibility standards aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA and translate lived experiences into practical improvements across government digital services. Building truly inclusive digital government requires designing with citizens, not just for citizens.

A digital state is built across government, the economy and society at once. The National Digital Masterplan is Pakistan's plan to do exactly that. As reported by The Nation, Senator Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Division, chaired a meeting on the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and the National Digital Masterplan. It was attended by @ShazaFK, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication; @sohailmunir, Chairperson, PDA. The Senator called for digitalisation and AI-driven transformation to deliver tangible outcomes across government, and for PDA's sector plans to carry practical outcomes and realistic timelines. Two sectors were discussed in detail: Education: a structured roadmap to bring modern digital and AI skills into educational institutions, including for primary and middle-grade students. Health: unified patient records and registries on a computerised, CNIC-based system, so a patient's clinical history is kept across public and private hospitals. PDA also set out the capacity government will need: dedicated AI experts and digitally literate focal persons in ministries. PDA will collaborate with the @NationalITBoard on training. Efforts are under way to place the National Digital Masterplan on the agenda of the Prime Minister's meeting with the provincial Chief Ministers. Digital transformation is a federal blueprint and a provincial reality, and that meeting is where the two come together. We are grateful for the Senator's recognition of PDA's work on the Prime Minister's Fuel Relief Scheme and PMOS. Both are working examples of what the Masterplan is meant to produce at scale. PDA's vision for the Masterplan is a Pakistan where every public service rests on shared national platforms, built once and used by all. One connected government, serving citizens in every province. Source: The Nation - nation.com.pk/29-Sep-2026/go…

Every layer of a national digital stack is only as useful as the one beneath it. Trust, identity and payments gave Pakistan its ground floor. What comes next is harder and more interesting: getting institutions to share what they already know, then putting that knowledge to work for the citizen at the other end of the counter. WASL, the National Data Exchange Layer, is how that sharing happens, securely and in real time, across government. A department can verify a record held by another without the citizen carrying documents from one office to the next. WASL does not store the data it carries. Each institution keeps ownership of its own records, and only what a service needs moves, only when it needs it. The paperwork stops being the citizen's job. AI sits at the top, where government decisions get faster and better informed. That is the build, layer by layer.

That's a wrap on this year's PDA Summer Internship Programme. Our interns spent the summer on live projects across AI, data, operations and delivery, working alongside our teams on the systems behind Pakistan's digital transformation. We are grateful to the colleagues who mentored them. The programme returns next summer.

Digital transformation is a long build, and it needs partnerships built for that distance, along with technical depth and institutions that keep showing up. The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) hosted a delegation from the @WorldBankGroup at its headquarters in Islamabad for a strategic engagement on Pakistan’s digital transformation agenda and opportunities for continued collaboration under the Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP). The meeting was chaired by @sohailmunir, Chairperson, PDA, and attended by senior officials from both institutions, including Michel Rogy, Regional Practice Director, World Bank, and Sylvia Solf, Practice Manager, World Bank. Discussions covered: • Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and citizen-centric digital services • ⁠WASL, Pakistan's National Data Exchange Layer, for secure and interoperable data exchange • ⁠The National Digital Master Plan (NDMP) and its priority sectoral use cases • ⁠Data governance, covering classification, residency and sharing • ⁠Artificial Intelligence, including responsible AI safeguards and AI-ready datasets • ⁠Federal and provincial interoperability, and shared digital infrastructure • ⁠AI and GPU compute capacity, under public, private and hybrid models • ⁠Machine-readable legislation, primary data registries and open data The World Bank also offered support through its Design Lab, and both sides discussed joint work on selected priority use cases to simplify citizen-facing digital services. The engagement reaffirmed a shared focus on secure, interoperable and citizen-centric digital transformation, and set out practical avenues for collaboration. National digital capability is assembled in rooms like this one, by institutions that keep returning to the table.

Investors put capital where they can trust the system: verified data, connected institutions and rules that are applied the same way every time. For Pakistan, building that trust is closely tied to how effectively the country’s digital infrastructure connects institutions, data and services. To discuss how Pakistan's digital transformation can support its emerging investment ecosystem, the Pakistan Digital Authority hosted Mr. Khalil Usmani, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Usman Saeed, Senior Vice President, Investment Banking, of @JSGlobalOnline at PDA Headquarters. @sohailmunir, Chairperson, PDA, briefed the delegation on PDA's vision and priorities, with a focus on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and WASL, Pakistan's National Data Exchange Layer, and their role in strengthening interoperability and data-driven public services. The meeting turned to capital markets enablement, REITs and investment opportunities in Pakistan. It also covered how digital infrastructure can improve efficiency across large-scale infrastructure projects, housing and commercial real estate. Digital public infrastructure makes due diligence faster and risk easier to assess. It lowers the cost of trust in an economy, and engagements such as this help shape it around the needs of those who invest in Pakistan's growth.

Every citizen has the right to ask: who looked at my data, and why? Writing in The News, Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, Chief Digital Public Infrastructure Officer at the Pakistan Digital Authority, sets out how WASL, Pakistan's National Data Exchange Layer, builds trust into its architecture, drawing on lessons from Estonia's X-Road and from the UK, Australia and Uganda. Together with the enforcement powers proposed in the draft National Data Governance Policy, this makes the answer to "who looked at my data?" something citizens can check, and so can a court. Trust does not come from simply building new systems. It must be visible and felt: people need to see how their data is used and know the rules will be enforced. This is the second article in his series on Pakistan's Digital Public Infrastructure. Read the article here: thenews.pk/print/1438098-who…