Imran Khan launches 'Digital Pakistan' initiative

Vowing to curb rampant corruption and ease the lives of the people of Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday launched the 'Digital Pakistan' initiative after his government roped in a senior Google executive to head the ambitious programme.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony here, he said the campaign will "unleash the youth's potential" in the country.

He said that the world has been progressing while Pakistan has largely lagged behind.

"Digital Pakistan will be the government's utmost priority. It will unleash the potential of the youth. Pakistan has the second biggest population of youth and it can be turned into strength through digital work," Khan was quoted as saying by Geo News.

Women can also contribute to the sector as well and gain jobs, he said.

"E-governance is necessary to curb corruption, which is rampant across the country at all levels, and this initiative will ease the lives of the citizens," the Express Tribune quoted him as saying.

Underlining that the future of Pakistan was very exciting, the prime minister noted that the developments in the digital arena were taking place at a fast pace, and in the times to come everything would be done through a mobile phone.

According to an official statement, the strategic pillars of the initiative are access and connectivity, digital infrastructure, digital skill and literacy, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The 'Digital Pakistan' campaign was executed by the Ministry of Information Technology. It has been tasked with digitising all correspondence between the government offices.

The IT ministry had been told to complete the task within three months.

Tania Aidrus, a Pakistani IT professional working as a senior executive at Google, has quit her position in Singapore to head the Pakistan government's digital initiative, media reports said.