What happened
Pakistan has moved closer to operationalising its National Artificial Intelligence Policy with the Ministry of IT and Telecom initiating the formation of the country’s first-ever AI Council, ProPakistani reported on 6 February 2026. The council will act as the apex body overseeing implementation of the National AI Policy 2025, with nominations already sought from academia, industry, civil society, citizen advocacy groups and key sectors including healthcare and agriculture. Most nominations have been received, and officials said the remaining ones were expected to be finalised shortly before the council is formally notified.
Who will sit on it
According to the Ministry of IT and Telecom, the AI Council will be chaired by the federal IT and telecom minister and will include senior federal and provincial representation. Its members will include secretaries from the IT, science and planning ministries, heads of key regulatory and academic bodies, provincial chief secretaries, and representatives from industry, academia, civil society and citizen advocacy groups, ProPakistani reported.
What the council will do
Officials said the council will provide strategic direction, review progress and coordinate between the federal and provincial governments to ensure the effective execution of AI-related initiatives. It will also guide the use of resources under the proposed National AI Fund and ensure that AI development follows human-centric and ethical principles.
The National AI Policy 2025, approved by the federal cabinet on 31 July 2025, is a component of the Digital Pakistan vision. The policy is structured around six strategic pillars: market enablement, sectoral transformation, AI infrastructure development, international collaboration, public awareness and readiness, and the creation of a secure and ethical AI environment. Under the framework, the government plans a National AI Fund and dedicated venture funds to support startups and innovation, and targets training one million AI professionals by 2030, offering 3,000 postgraduate scholarships a year, introducing regulatory sandboxes and enforcing ethical and transparency standards. It also includes plans for indigenous large language models and a national compute grid.
Why it matters
The council is the first standing body intended to convert a cabinet-approved strategy into delivery, at a time when Pakistan has been trying to build a domestic technology sector and widen digital adoption. Its success will depend less on the policy’s stated targets than on whether the federal and provincial administrations it must coordinate fund and staff the work; the council is to be supported by a dedicated Policy Implementation Cell and a master action matrix to track targets, ensure ethical compliance and guide resource allocation. Pakistan has been running related industry events, including Indus AI Week in early February.
What is still uncertain
The notification of the council had not been issued at the time of the report, and the officials quoted did not say when it would be. The government has not published the full list of members, the council’s budget, or the timeline against which the policy’s 2030 targets will be assessed.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published reporting, not independent verification. Sources were reviewed on 6 February 2026.
- ProPakistani — Govt Forms Pakistan's First-Ever AI Council to Guide Policy, Funding6 February 2026 · Reports the Ministry of IT and Telecom's initiation of the AI Council, the sought nominations, the chair and membership, the council's mandate, the National AI Policy 2025 background and its six pillars, targets and implementation support.
