Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet made a landmark decision in July 2025 by approving the country’s first National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025. Government leaders hail this as the cornerstone of a “Digital Nation Vision,” a transformative commitment to position Pakistan as a competitive, knowledge-based economy. The policy is undeniably ambitious, targeting the training of one million AI professionals and the launch of 50,000 civic AI projects within its timeframe.

However, a bold vision requires sturdy foundations. Beyond the impressive targets lies a critical question: does this policy establish the ethical and practical groundwork necessary for success? This analysis explores the promises, the proposed safeguards, and the substantial challenges that will determine whether this policy becomes a blueprint for inclusive progress or an aspirational document.

The Architecture of Ambition: Inside the National AI Policy 2025

The policy is structured around six strategic pillars designed to build a comprehensive AI ecosystem from the ground up. This multi-pronged approach aims to foster innovation, develop talent, and integrate AI across society.

The following table summarizes the core focus of each pillar:

A key feature is its attempt to be inclusive. The policy explicitly aims to bridge divides, targeting scholarships for women and persons with disabilities and seeking to ensure AI does not replicate societal inequalities. As Dr. Aneel Salman, Chair of the National AI Policy Committee, notes, the process itself sought to be a “national conversation,” incorporating voices from government, industry, academia, and civil society.

The Ethical Guardrails: Principles for a “Secure AI Ecosystem”

Recognizing the profound risks associated with AI, Pillar 3 of the policy is dedicated to building a “Secure AI Ecosystem”. This represents the government’s commitment to ethical governance.

The proposed mechanisms include:

• Regulatory Sandboxes: Controlled environments where new AI solutions can be tested under regulatory supervision. This aims to foster innovation while managing risk.

• Transparency Frameworks: Guidelines intended to make the use of AI systems, particularly in the public sector, more open and understandable.

• An AI Regulatory Directorate: A body tasked with ensuring ethical practices, data protection, and algorithmic transparency.

The policy is designed to be interoperable with existing digital frameworks like the National Cyber Security Policy and the pending Personal Data Protection Bill, suggesting a desire for a coherent national strategy.

The Implementation Gap: Lofty Goals Meet Ground-Level Realities

Despite its comprehensive vision, analysts consistently warn that the policy’s success is obstructed by systemic, on-the-ground challenges.

• The Infrastructure Deficit: Reliable, high-speed internet is fundamental for AI, yet only about 54% of Pakistan’s population has reliable access, with rural areas severely underserved. The policy envisions massive data centers but faces a chronic national electricity crisis and water scarcity, raising sustainability concerns.

• The Regulatory Ambiguity: The policy proposes new bodies like an AI Council but lacks clarity on their legal authority and enforcement power. Critical questions about liability for AI decisions, algorithmic bias, and ethical accountability remain unaddressed by existing laws like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

• The Talent Pipeline Paradox: The goal of training one million professionals by 2030 is audacious, but the country currently lacks a sufficient base of master trainers and specialized academics to achieve it. There is also a persistent risk of brain drain, where trained talent seeks opportunities abroad.

The Critical Human Rights Critique

Human rights organizations have raised urgent concerns about the policy’s potential for harm, arguing that its ethical frameworks are insufficient without stronger legal safeguards.

Amnesty International has warned that the policy’s emphasis on AI-driven surveillance and data collection could lead to privacy violations and government overreach. Hajira Maryam, an AI advisor at Amnesty, states that the policy lacks “robust safeguards to protect citizens’ fundamental rights”.

Key criticisms and recommendations include:

• Banning High-Risk Surveillance: Amnesty calls for a ban on AI practices incompatible with human rights, such as public facial recognition, social scoring, and predictive policing.

• Stronger Independent Oversight: They recommend strengthening parliamentary oversight of AI implementation and ensuring the proposed AI Regulatory Directorate is truly independent.

• The Missing Data Law: A recurring theme is the critical absence of a comprehensive data protection law. Analysts agree that without a robust legal framework similar to the EU’s GDPR, the policy’s data protection goals are hollow. “How can effective AI policy be implemented without data protection laws?” asked one commentator on the policy.

Conclusion: A Foundation, Not a Fortress

Pakistan’s National AI Policy 2025 is a necessary and ambitious declaration of intent. It successfully lays out a visionary roadmap for harnessing AI for economic and social good and makes a commendable attempt to prioritize inclusion and ethics.

However, the policy, in its current form, is more of a foundation than a complete fortress. Its ethical promises are not yet underpinned by the enforceable laws, independent regulators, and concrete accountability mechanisms required to prevent abuse. The profound infrastructure and talent gaps threaten to limit its benefits to urban elites, exacerbating the very inequalities it seeks to bridge.

The true test will be in implementation. The government must now follow this high-level blueprint with decisive action: enacting a strong data protection law, clarifying regulatory authority, making substantive investments in equitable infrastructure, and—critically—engaging in genuine consultation with civil society and impacted communities. Only then can this foundation support a digital future that is truly innovative, inclusive, and secure for all Pakistanis.