Pakistan: Cyber law vital for digital investment
IT minister says over 32 govt services digitised, NADRA documents now accessible via apps
Shaza also revealed that Chinese satellite internet firms, including Galaxy Space and Shanghai Space, have expressed interest in entering the Pakistani market. PHOTO: APP
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that strengthening cybersecurity is essential for building investor confidence and ensuring the success of Pakistan’s digital transformation.
Addressing a cybersecurity-related event on Wednesday, the minister said that without a strong cybersecurity framework, it would not be possible to establish complete confidence among foreign investors and businesses seeking to operate in Pakistan’s digital economy. She said that the government had already digitised more than 32 government services, while access to National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) documents had also been enabled through mobile applications.
However, she stressed that further growth in the digital sector and greater foreign investment would depend on strengthening the country’s legal, policy, and institutional frameworks from a cybersecurity perspective.
The minister noted that cybersecurity was no longer limited to technical infrastructure alone but had broader implications for society and the state.
According to Khawaja, cybersecurity is directly linked with the protection of citizens’ personal identity, personal safety, and the security of homes and families, in addition to its role in safeguarding national security.
Khawaja said the world was rapidly moving towards digitalisation, with modern technologies increasingly being applied in sectors such as healthcare. While these technologies are opening new opportunities for improving disease diagnosis and treatment, they are also creating new risks related to data protection and potential misuse.
She warned that the misuse of sensitive information, including genetic data of populations, could become a serious concern if cybersecurity systems remain weak.
Reference Link:- https://tribune.com.pk/story/2597133/cyber-law-vital-for-digital-investment
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
