ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet approved the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2024 to establish the National Digital Commission and Pakistan Digital Authority on Tuesday, in a bid to ensure the digitisation of the economy and promote e-governance.

During the meeting, PM Shehbaz Sharif asked the law ministry to carry out the “required review” of the act, aimed at digitising the services sector in accordance with international standards.

The National Digital Commission would act as a policymaking organisation and headed by the PM, comprising federal and provincial members.

The Pakistan Digital Authority would work on achieving the objectives of ‘Digital Pakistan’.

Besides being a corporate entity, the authority would also have financial and administrative autonomy.

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During the meeting, PM Shehbaz also talked about his visit to China. He said a high-powered Chinese delegation would visit Pakistan to expand bilateral cooperation.

The PM said B2B meetings were held between the businessmen and investors of Pakistan and China at the Pakistan-China Business Forum in Shenzhen.

He said the government would send around 1,000 youngsters to China for technology and agriculture sector training.

Moreover, Huawei would annually train 200,000 Pakistani youngsters in information technology, he added.

The federal cabinet also approved the appointment of members of the National School for Public Policy from both the public and private education sectors. On the recommendation of the human rights ministry, a cabinet committee was constituted to initiate the appointment of a member from Islamabad to the National Commission for Human Rights.

The meeting principally approved ‘The Arbitration Bill 2024’ and relevant consultation with the provinces under Article 144 of the Constitution, and the signing of an MoU between the National Accountability Bureau and Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption.

The federal cabinet endorsed the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises taken on May 13 and May 20 the Economic Coordination Committee’s decisions of May 23 and May 27, and those of the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases made on June 5.

In a separate meeting, the PM ordered a reduction in loadshedding during summer.

He also met President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the economic situation, with a particular focus on extending relief to people in the budget.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2024