WEB DESK: Federal Minister for IT Shaza Fatima said that the government is providing more facilities to youth in the IT sector. She noted that eight incubation centres are currently operational across the country. From Hyderabad alone, startups worth over Rs1 billion have emerged, while nationwide startups have exceeded Rs30 billion, she added.
According to Shaza Fatima, more than 3.3 million young people are being trained annually and starting their own businesses. “We are enhancing human resources and have taken multiple steps to strengthen infrastructure,” she said.
The minister further highlighted that significant progress is being made in affiliation with various universities and on iCloud. She said that in the coming years, Pakistan will reap many benefits from the IT sector.
“The purpose of the Digital Pakistan Act is to move towards a modern digital system,” she explained, adding that the aim is to bring transformation in people’s lives through digitalisation. “Every sector of life is becoming digitised.”
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She mentioned that in collaboration with NADRA, digital data of every citizen is being compiled, and assured that all individual records will remain completely secure.
Under the Green Initiative, the agriculture sector will also be digitised. “Through digital data, we will be able to identify the challenges faced by agriculture,” she noted.
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The minister said that within the next three years, fibre optic coverage will be expanded to 60%, and stressed that the government is working tirelessly to make Pakistan a digital hub.
Pakistani citizens’ data sold on dark web for just Rs500
Last week, lawmakers raised alarm over reports that sensitive personal data of hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis, including Hajj applicants, is being sold on the dark web for as little as Rs500. At a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT, chaired by Palwasha Khan, officials from the PTA, IT ministry and other agencies were grilled on the breaches and delays in data protection legislation.
Senator Afnanullah revealed that over 350,000 records, including CNICs, travel histories and SIM details, were already available online, warning that if data of 130 million citizens were compromised, it could generate Rs65 billion. PTA chief Hafeez ur Rehman confirmed Hajj applicants’ data was leaked and said the FIA had launched an inquiry.
Khan criticised the government’s failure to pass a long-promised data protection bill, calling it incompetence. Lawmakers warned the breaches exposed citizens to exploitation and threatened national security.