For man who drafted Pakistan’s first IT policy, an honorary degree

Dr Zaidi was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2007.


News Desk July 25, 2012



The man who drafted Pakistan’s first IT policy, Dr S M Junaid Zaidi, has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, said a press release issued on Tuesday.


Dr Zaidi, awarded the prestigious Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2007, is the founding rector of the Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), which was chartered by the government in 2000 and has grown to have campuses in seven cities, over 20,000 students and 2,500 faculty members.

Dr Zaidi’s professional experience spans 36 years, said the press release. His expertise ranges from devising Build-Operate-Transfer mechanisms to Technology Commercialization and Utilization, Project Planning & Management, Industrial Information Networking, Operations Research, System Designing, Technology Policy Analysis, Technology Monitoring & Forecasting and Technology Transfer.

He holds a doctorate in Optimisation of Algorithms on Networking from the University of Birmingham in England. Before CIIT, Dr Zaidi served in many distinguished high profile positions at the United Nations (UN) and in the Government of Pakistan, said the press release.

In his time with the UN, Dr Zaidi served as an adviser to the Malaysian government and later at the UN ESCAP Asia and Pacific Centre, where he was part of advisory missions to Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam as a UN expert on IT and helped them establish their technology transfer and industrial technology information systems.

He also wrote two concept papers for the government and Comsats, which led to the establishment of the Virtual University and Comsats Internet Services.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2012.

COMMENTS (87)

Wallis | 11 years ago | Reply Raja Hindustani, no wonder hillary clinton made fun of u indians in a media, go and see it on youtube yourself. The reason why you have big IT industry is because India has 2nd largest population and India has never suffered the kind of problems that Pak has. The 1st PC virus was made in Pakistan in 1986. Many Pakistanis have contributed in IT, Do you know that Umar Saif of LUMS Univ has been ranked by MIT as 1 of the top 35 innovators in the world. If you really believe that India has better then Pak in everything then how come 270 Indian websites were hacked by Pakistanis in reply to the 40 Pakistani websites that were hacked by Indians?Even your own media was crying when more than 200 Indian websites were hacked. Mashallah recently Pakistan has made an IPad. Millions of Indians donot have access to clean water and public toilets, go and read your own news.1st look after your own people. you all the time just talk about your greatness although many indians are driving taxies in US, in Dubai and Saudia Arab.
Jehanzaib Baloch | 11 years ago | Reply

Warmly Welcome Sir, Congratulations to you from the core of my heart........Sir when you will Open the COMSATS University Campus in the Premises of Baluchistan,we would like to see ASAP COMSATS in Quetta ,We welcome you there please explore the IT Knowledge in Balochistan as well,as CIIT Chancellor also belongs to Balochistan please take help from him and open the Campus .

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