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By Tanveer Ahmed :
The federal government has officially set up the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), a major component of the Digital Nation Bill passed earlier this year. A notification issued by the Cabinet Division on August 19 confirms the Authority’s establishment along with its initial leadership, marking an important move toward aligning Pakistan’s diverse digital initiatives under a single framework.
Created through the Digital Nation Bill passed in May 2025, the PDA has been mandated to lead the country’s digital transformation agenda. Functioning under the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the Authority will be overseen by a chairperson and two members. Its responsibilities include preparing and executing the National Digital Master Plan, overseeing progress on national digital projects, and building a unified digital identity system aimed at integrating citizens’ social, economic, and governance-related data. The law positions these measures as the backbone of Pakistan’s shift toward a digital economy, digital society and modern governance structure.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has named Dr. Sohail Munir as the Authority’s first chairperson and Dr. Muhammad J. Sear as one of its two members, both appointed for five-year terms. Munir, a digital transformation expert serving the Abu Dhabi Department of Government Enablement, has contributed to major smart city and e-governance programmes. Sear, the CEO of UAE-based startup Simpli Human, has a background advising governments and international organisations on digital innovation. The third leadership position remains vacant for now.
Their selection comes after the government established a high-level search committee in June — chaired by Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja — to identify candidates with global expertise to steer the Authority’s work.
The PDA’s mandate includes harmonising digital policymaking, setting national data governance rules, overseeing cloud infrastructure standards, evaluating major ICT projects and crafting a national data strategy to overcome long-standing barriers between public institutions. Another priority is addressing Pakistan’s digital inequality, with only about 40 percent of the population having access to stable internet connectivity.
The launch of the Authority coincides with a period of growth for Pakistan’s IT industry, which posted a 12 percent increase in export earnings in FY2025, underscoring the sector’s expanding economic significance.
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