A Question of Intelligence

It was a Sunday evening. The sky was quiet, the chai was hot, and the monsoon breeze carried just the right amount of calm.

I had no plans beyond my veranda chair and a slow scroll through headlines. But then I stumbled upon it — the freshly approved National Artificial Intelligence Policy of Pakistan. It felt monumental. Finally, I thought. We’re joining the race.

I printed it, took my notepad, and began reading. Two hours later, I was still seated. But this time, not calm. Conflicted.

Not disappointed. Not angry. Just curious. Because something about it reminded me of stories I’d read in my youth. The kind where the pieces of the puzzle are all there, but never quite aligned.

"This article is not written to criticize, but to contribute. As Chair of AAAI Pakistan, I feel a deep responsibility to highlight the areas where we can improve — not to point fingers, but to offer direction. Our goal is to strengthen what’s been started and build an AI future that truly serves every citizen."

A Global Game of Chess That Started Years Ago

Artificial Intelligence isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s policy. It’s business. It’s military. It’s survival.

And while we in Pakistan were gathering drafts and forming task forces, others had already begun to build cathedrals of computation.

• China released its National AI Development Plan in 2017 with $140 billion backing.
• India launched its ‘AI for All’ strategy in 2018 and is now a founding GPAI member.
• Bangladesh integrated AI in governance through UNDP’s a2i strategy and trained 50,000+ youth.

Meanwhile, Pakistan approved its first national AI policy in July 2025 — eight years after China, seven after India, five after Bangladesh.

What the Policy Promises

Pakistan’s AI policy is built on four foundational pillars:

• AI Market Enablement
• AI Awareness & Readiness
• AI Governance & Regulation
• AI Transformation & Evolution

It plans to train 1 million AI professionals, build 50,000 civic AI projects, offer 3,000 scholarships annually, and establish a National AI Innovation Fund and Regulatory Directorate.

The ambition is bold. But something is missing — like building a railway without buying the train engines.

What’s Missing — Not Just in Bullet Points, but in Spirit

1. Legal Ambiguity: The AI Directorate exists on paper, but has no mandate or authority.
2. Ethical Vagueness: No ISO 42001 alignment, audits, or grievance systems.
3. Risk Blindness: No framework to distinguish low-risk and high-risk AI.
4. Weak Data Privacy Links: No tie-in to Pakistan’s PDPA or AI consent frameworks.
5. No Timeline or KPIs: No measurable deliverables or oversight boards.
6. Global Isolation: Pakistan isn’t a GPAI member or in major AI trade partnerships.
7. Lack of Compute Infrastructure: No clarity on servers, GPUs, or data lakes.
8. Startup Blind Spot: No sandbox fund or AI accelerators for young innovators.

Let’s Talk About What’s Good Too

• Strong focus on AI education and skill development.
• Plans to use AI in agriculture, healthcare, and education.
• Proposal for a National Innovation Fund and PPP models.
• Willingness to engage local communities and private sector.

But the issue isn’t intent. It’s execution. Accountability. And clarity.

As Chair of AAAI Pakistan, I Must Speak Clearly

At AAAI Pakistan, our mission is not just academia — it is action.

• Trained 300,000+ people in foundational and advanced AI
• Built local GPT agents for government clients
• Drafted ethical standards for startup communities
• Designed automation systems for national companies using IBM Watsonx

Here’s what I would strongly recommend:

• Pass legislation giving the AI Directorate real authority.
• Launch AI sandbox pilots with governance feedback loops.
• Mandate ethics and bias auditing for public AI systems.
• Create a joint advisory council of academia, industry, and civil society.
• Apply for GPAI membership and align with ISO and UNESCO charters.
• Build an AI Trust Index to measure fairness and citizen trust annually.

Pakistan does not lack talent. It lacks unified, regulated, and structured execution.

Why This Matters to Every Citizen

This isn’t a policy just for engineers. This is about:

• Whether your child’s university application is judged fairly by AI.
• Whether your business loan is approved by a transparent system.
• Whether your face is scanned in a crowd and what that means for your rights.

It’s about trust in the invisible decisions being made for you.