PM Shehbaz chairs IT ministry review meeting as domestic internet connections triple to 5.10 million since 2024
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chairs a review meeting on the affairs of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications on May 11, 2026. Photo: PMO/X
Pakistan is expected to achieve IT exports worth $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion in the current fiscal year, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a review meeting on the affairs of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT).
Prime Minister Shehbaz reiterated that promotion of the IT sector and growth of IT-related exports remain among the government’s top priorities. “Pakistan’s youth has immense potential in IT, which should be taken full advantage of,” he said.
Today’s date: May 11, 2026
وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف نے وزارت انفارمیشن ٹیکنالوجی و ٹیلی کام کے امور پر جائزہ اجلاس کی صدارت کی.
اجلاس سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے وزیرِ اعظم نے کہا کہ ملک میں آئی ٹی کے شعبے کا فروغ اور آئی ٹی سے متعلق برآمدات میں اضافہ حکومت کی اولین ترجیحات میں شامل ہے.… pic.twitter.com/VBmQYpHpJq
– Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) May 11, 2026
The Prime Minister also directed that work on establishing Easy Service centers in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir be expedited, and called for efforts to launch Easy Services facilities in the provinces in collaboration with the provincial governments. He further called for cooperation from provincial and district governments to narrow the IT gap between urban and rural areas.
The meeting was briefed on a series of measures taken to promote IT across the country. The number of national Internet connections increased from 1.9 million in 2024 to 5.10 million in 2026, according to the PMO.
On fifth generation (5G) services, the briefing revealed that an auction was held in the country recently and was the largest in the world in this regard since 2016, generating revenue of $509 million for Pakistan.
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Regarding the promotion of artificial intelligence (AI) in Pakistan, it was informed in the meeting that Indus AI Week was organized in February 2025, with events held in 30 cities, more than 100 international delegates participating and 88 pavilions installed.
The meeting was also informed that optical fiber connectivity has been provided to public schools and health units in the federal capital. The provision of free internet hotspots in Islamabad is also in the final stages, with e-learning modules being installed in Saidpur Model Village and Fatima Jinnah Park.
The review meeting was attended by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for Economy Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for IT and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, among other senior government officials.
The meeting comes a day after the announcement that MoITT plans to launch 20,000 online AI training programs across Pakistan through an advanced learning management system (LMS), illustrating a development model to promote modern technology in the country.




