Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif called for the creation of a unified national innovation ecosystem to accelerate Pakistan’s technological transformation, urging universities, research institutions, startups, industries, and farmers to jointly develop indigenous knowledge and cutting-edge technologies that could position the country among the leaders of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Indus RAS Robotics and Autonomous Systems Expo 2026 in Islamabad, the prime minister said Pakistan must seize the opportunities presented by the global technological revolution while ensuring its benefits reach every segment of society, calling on stakeholders to become part of one national ecosystem in which the knowledge behind these technologies remains indigenous, owned, and continuously advanced within the country.
The prime minister emphasised that the robotics and autonomous systems revolution should not remain confined to advanced economies, multinational corporations, or major urban centres, arguing instead that these technologies must become a driver of inclusive growth by improving the lives of farmers, small businesses, women entrepreneurs, young innovators, and underserved communities across Pakistan and the wider Global South. He noted that as these technologies grow more powerful, the responsibility carried by governments, policymakers, and stakeholders grows correspondingly, calling for clear regulatory and ethical frameworks to ensure autonomous systems remain safe, secure, transparent, and consistently used for the benefit of humanity.
On the occasion, the prime minister announced two landmark government initiatives shaping the future of robotics and autonomous systems in Pakistan. The first, the Spark and Elevate Programme, is designed to transform Pakistani research into world-class technologies, globally competitive enterprises, and high-productivity employment opportunities. The second is the establishment of the Pakistan Venture Fund, backed by an initial government commitment of 20 million dollars intended to catalyse investment in the country’s technology ecosystem and support innovation-driven enterprises moving forward. The ceremony was attended by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, alongside federal ministers, technology experts, industrialists, entrepreneurs, foreign delegates, and students.
The prime minister highlighted progress already made in indigenous defence-related autonomous capabilities, noting that simulators on display outside the venue were fully manufactured and assembled within Pakistan, while drones had achieved more than 60 percent indigenisation. Referring to the previous year’s Marqa-e-Haq, he said Pakistan’s armed forces had demonstrated the ability to safeguard the country’s physical and cyber frontiers through advanced autonomous systems under Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s leadership, with support from Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu and Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, describing these military advancements as an integral part of strengthening the country’s broader security architecture.
Speaking earlier at the ceremony, Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the countries leading in emerging technologies would shape the global economy of the future, and that Pakistan was determined to build complete value chains in robotics and artificial intelligence as a matter of national priority rather than incidental development. She said the government’s Digital Nation Pakistan agenda treated technology as a key engine of productivity, employment, and national competitiveness rather than merely another sector of the economy, pointing to concrete results including a nearly 21 percent growth in the country’s ICT exports this year, along with Pakistan’s climb of 14 places on the E-Government Development Index and 27 places on the International Telecommunication Union’s ICT Development Index as evidence of the country’s growing digital progress.
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