Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all stakeholders to become part of a unified national innovation ecosystem, stressing the need to develop indigenous knowledge and technological capabilities within Pakistan. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Indus RAS Robotics and Autonomous Systems Expo 2026, he said Pakistan must embrace the technological revolution while ensuring its benefits reach every segment of society, calling on universities, research and development centres, startups, industries, and farmers to operate as one integrated ecosystem in which the underlying knowledge behind these technologies remains indigenous, owned, and continuously advanced within the country rather than imported wholesale from abroad.
The prime minister emphasised that the robotics and autonomous systems revolution should not remain confined to advanced economies, large corporations, or major urban centres, arguing instead that it should serve as a catalyst for inclusive growth by improving the lives of farmers, small businesses, women entrepreneurs, young innovators, and underserved communities across Pakistan and the broader Global South. He noted that as these technologies grow more powerful, the responsibility carried by governments and stakeholders grows in parallel, calling for clear regulatory and ethical frameworks to ensure autonomous systems remain safe, secure, transparent, and consistently used for the benefit of humanity rather than deployed without adequate oversight.
Among the announcements made during the ceremony, the prime minister unveiled two initiatives intended to shape the future of robotics and autonomous systems in the country, including the Spark and Elevate programme, designed to transform Pakistani research into globally competitive enterprises and high-productivity jobs, and the establishment of the Pakistan Venture Fund with an initial commitment of 20 million dollars aimed at catalysing investment across the country’s broader technology ecosystem. He framed the initiative as part of a larger national narrative, describing the pursuit of robotics and autonomous machines as reflecting the determination of a nation of roughly 250 million people to reimagine, compete, and build a stronger future for coming generations.
The ceremony was attended by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, alongside federal ministers, industry experts, entrepreneurs, foreign delegates, and students, with the prime minister highlighting progress already made in indigenous defence-related autonomous capabilities, including simulators fully manufactured within Pakistan and drones that have achieved more than 60 percent indigenisation. He also pointed to how emerging technologies had already transformed the agriculture sector, helping farmers manage water scarcity and rising input costs, while similarly aiding disaster response efforts in situations where roads and infrastructure had been destroyed.
Speaking earlier at the ceremony, Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the countries leading in emerging technologies would ultimately define the future economy, and that Pakistan intended to own the full value chains of robotics and artificial intelligence as a matter of deliberate national policy rather than incidental development. She said the government’s Digital Nation Pakistan direction treated technology as an actual engine of productivity, employment, and national competitiveness rather than a peripheral economic lever, pointing to tangible results including a nearly 21 percent growth in ICT exports this year, alongside Pakistan’s improved standing on the E-Governance Development Index and the ITU’s ICT Development Index as evidence of the policy direction translating into measurable outcomes.
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