PM Shehbaz inaugurates IT Park to drive tech-led growth

Hails country's first national technology facility as crucial milestone for Pakistan's rapid economic progress

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the newly renamed Daanish IT Park (National Technology Park) on Saturday, hailing the country's first national technology facility as a crucial milestone for Pakistan's rapid economic progress and prosperity. 

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, PM Shehbaz said the government would not be involved in running the Islamabad IT Park, which would be handed over to a company selected through a transparent bidding process and operated by experts and teachers.

“The government of Pakistan will have nothing to do with this. There will be experts and teachers here, and they will run this IT park,” he said while inaugurating the facility, which he renamed the Danish IT Park.

He said local and international companies working in information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI) would be invited to participate in the bidding process, with the building handed over to the company offering the best services under the most favourable terms and conditions.

“I have already told the ministry that bidding should be conducted transparently. Companies working in the fields of IT and AI, whether in Pakistan or abroad, will be invited,” he said.

The prime minister said the facility would equip young people with skills in information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI), helping Pakistan compete with developed economies.

براہِ راست:وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف کی نیشنل ٹیکنالوجی پارک کی افتتاحی تقریب میں شرکت و خطاب https://t.co/QD6bnmtAsI

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) October 10, 2026

“This IT park will prove to be a milestone for Pakistan’s development and prosperity,” he said, adding that the facility would house incubation centres, innovation hubs, start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), industrialists, teachers and students.

The prime minister said the park would help train and empower young people, giving them the skills needed to contribute to economic growth. He called it Pakistan’s first IT park built on “highly modern lines”.

“It will equip and empower not thousands but hundreds of thousands of children with skills,” he said, expressing hope that those skills would help Pakistan reach the ranks of developed countries.

PM Shehbaz said he expected similar facilities to spread across the country once the Islamabad park became fully operational.

“When this becomes a fully operational IT park, I am confident that hundreds and thousands of IT parks like this will spread across all four provinces of Pakistan,” he said.

He added that AI and IT could benefit sectors ranging from agriculture and manufacturing to industry and mining, saying they would allow the country to benefit from “modern knowledge”.

The project had suffered “considerable delays”, he said, adding that it was important for the country’s young women and men to benefit from the facility so Pakistan could move forward.

Read: Do we need data centres?

The prime minister said the project’s foundation stone had been laid in 2018 but continued to say, “What happened afterwards is part of history. I will not say anything about it today, because this is not an occasion for political point-scoring,” he said.

The prime minister credited teamwork and the efforts of government officials and ministers for bringing the project to completion, acknowledging Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja and their teams.

The prime minister said he had chaired several meetings and visited the site more than once, stressing that his concern was not simply to complete the project under his government but to ensure young people could benefit from it without further delay.

PM Shehbaz highlighted that the project was about more than “bricks and mortar”, describing it as an ecosystem built around innovation, vocational training and opportunities for entrepreneurs to work alongside IT and AI experts.

He stated that the park would bring together entrepreneurs and technology specialists, acting as a “great catalyst” for people willing to learn new skills and put them into practice.

Read more: Pakistan, Google team up for AI-driven future

PM Shehbaz then went on to announce that the Islamabad IT Park would henceforth be known as the Danish IT Park, linking the initiative to the Danish school system, which provides education to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

He said the government intended to extend the initiative to other parts of the country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Thousands of children from poor backgrounds had benefited from Danish schools, he said, with graduates going on to become doctors, engineers, scientists and teachers. Some had pursued higher education at universities around the world, while others were serving in hospitals in Pakistan.

The prime minister also referred to plans for Danish universities, expressing hope that the IT park would become a nationwide initiative.

“God willing, this Danish IT Park will become a mighty tree, and millions of children across the country will receive education under its shade,” he said.

PM Shehbaz thanked the officials involved in the project, including Ahsan Iqbal, Ahad Khan Cheema and Shaza Fatima Khawaja, as well as other members of the team. He also acknowledged Abdullah Jan for his contribution.