PAKISTAN’S AI GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK AND NATIONAL POLICY (2025): A REAPPRAISAL

Abstract

National Policy on Artificial Intelligence (NP on AI) 2025 is an initiative introduced in July 2025, which can be regarded as the first national AI policy in Pakistan. This policy follows an innovative path to promote socio-economic development as well as digital sovereignty through artificial intelligence. There are six main strategic pillars in this initiative, namely the innovation ecosystem, awareness and readiness, secure and ethical AI, sectoral transformation, distributed Centres of Excellence, and a National AI Fund. Some of the targets set by this initiative include training one million AI professionals by 2030, having distributed Centres of Excellence, developing a National AI Fund, and establishing regulatory sandboxes. On the other hand, this national policy on AI has several advantages when compared to most of the Global South policies regarding AI, but there are still some important flaws present in this policy. The reappraisal is pitting Pakistan's policy against the resource-based IndiaAI Mission, state-led controls in China, rights-based policy in Sri Lanka and the sectoral focus in Bangladesh, and reveals the comparative advantages of the Pakistani policy in terms of ethical intent but also some feasibility limitations due to fiscal, energy and coordination realities. Based on the analysis, the following are required to realize the full potential of aspirational commitments to achieve resilient and equitable use of AI that can narrow digital divides and build national resilience in an increasingly polarized global context: strengthening data-protection linkages; clarifying institutional architecture; developing independent monitoring dashboards; introducing green benchmarks; and deepening multi-stakeholder engagement. This review aims to deliver a comprehensive assessment of the key strengths and areas for improvement in the country's AI policy, highlighting the essential components for reaching its objectives. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the national AI policy and pinpoint the crucial elements of the policy necessary for achieving its goals.

Keywords: National AI Policy 2025, Ethical AI Governance, Digital Inclusion, Institutional Fragmentation, Human-Capital Development, Global South AI Strategy