Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered federal ministries to complete data digitisation within prescribed deadlines under the Digital Nation Pakistan programme. He also directed them to provide their relevant records to a central national digital platform.
Shehbaz issued the instructions on Thursday, October 8, while reviewing the programme’s implementation across federal ministries. He asked ministries to coordinate with provincial governments and other institutions to meet their deadlines.
The prime minister said a national central data centre would strengthen government services and improve facilities for citizens. Bringing useful information from different sectors together could also support economic development, he added.
“The purpose of Digital Nation Pakistan is, in fact, to ensure effective and convenient services for citizens at the national level,” he said.
Shehbaz linked the digitisation of ministry performance and related records to efforts against corruption and institutional disorder. Clear ministerial responsibilities and timely data submission would help modernise government operations, he said.
He cited the fuel subsidy scheme for deserving sections of society as an example of effective coordination. Data sharing between institutions had helped implement the scheme successfully, he told the meeting.
Officials said the Ministry of Information Technology was working with relevant ministries on sector-specific digitisation. Health and agriculture remained priorities because of their direct importance to public services.
Shehbaz praised the Ministry of National Health Services for working with provincial governments to compile universal medical records. He also welcomed the introduction of QR codes to help ensure the supply of quality medicines nationwide.
The health ministry separately briefed participants on submitting health-related information to the central data centre. Its presentation also covered the use of digitisation to verify medicine quality.
The IT ministry is also collaborating with the Ministry of Law to bring relevant national laws onto one platform. Officials said the initiative would provide better guidance for future legislation.
They outlined three objectives guiding work across priority sectors: digital government services, a digital economy and digital public facilitation.
Federal ministries presented updates on their services, performance and progress in supplying data to the centre. The published account referred to prescribed deadlines but did not specify a single completion date.
The latest instructions follow an earlier push to connect federal institutions with national digital infrastructure. In July, Shehbaz directed authorities to make the government-operated Sky 47 data centre available to federal institutions.
At that meeting, he said shared infrastructure could reduce the need for separate departmental data centres and save public resources.
The National Digital Commission provides an institutional framework for this agenda under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025. The prime minister chairs the commission, while provincial chief ministers serve as members.
Thursday’s participants included Law Minister Azam Tarar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema. Commerce Minister Jam Kamal and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also attended. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, IT Minister Shaza Fatima and officials from relevant government institutions joined the meeting.
