PM allows all federal institutions access to Sky47

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities to immediately make the newly established national central data centre, Sky47, available to all federal institutions, aiming to create a unified government data infrastructure. Chairing a review meeting on the implementation of the National Integrated Digital Policy Framework, the prime minister said a single public-sector data centre would serve as a central repository for information held by government institutions and help prevent duplication of resources. “Preventing the establishment of separate data centres by different institutions will help save national resources, ” he said. Sharif said the Pakistan Digital Authority was working towards transforming government services and improving the delivery of citizen-focused services through digital systems. He said implementation of the National Digital Vision was essential for developing an integrated digital society and directed that priority sectors, including health, agriculture, utilities, housing and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), should be brought under the digital framework first. The prime minister said the completion of the National Digital Vision would allow citizens to access a range of public services through a single digital identity platform, including document verification, banking facilities, healthcare services and financial transfers. He directed that a meeting of the National Digital Commission be convened soon to take all stakeholders, including provincial governments, into confidence on the policy. Officials informed the meeting that the National Digital Commission had been established under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025, with the prime minister as its chairman and all provincial chief ministers as members. They said work was underway on digitising key sectors, including agriculture, food, health, energy, housing and SMEs, while 14 other priority areas identified by the prime minister were also being addressed. Officials said the digital framework for housing would introduce a centralised identification system for private and government properties, while the SME initiative would establish a mechanism for unique legal identification of businesses to improve productivity. They added that required legal, administrative and institutional measures for implementing the National Digital Vision were being finalised, with input from global experts, international organisations and international best practices incorporated into the process. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal, Information Minister Shaza Fatima, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad and others. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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