Google has launched Digital Pasban in Pakistan, a nationwide online-safety initiative aimed at helping parents, children and educators navigate the digital world more safely. The initiative will target 200,000 households with Urdu-language resources, practical safety training and tools for responsible use of the internet and artificial intelligence.

Google unveiled Digital Pasban at its Safe Raho with Google event in Pakistan, bringing together technology, education, telecommunications and media partners to address the growing need for digital safety as more families rely on the internet for education, communication, entertainment and everyday activities.

The initiative combines practical technology tools with digital literacy and parent-focused education, giving families the knowledge and resources needed to identify online risks and make safer decisions.

A Nationwide Push for Digital Safety

Digital Pasban aims to reach 200,000 households through localized Urdu-language toolkits, instructional videos, SMS alerts, broadcast media campaigns, school-based activities and community engagement.

Google is working with several organizations as part of the initiative, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Tech Valley, Beaconhouse School System, Jazz World and HUM Network. The effort is also supported by Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination.

Rather than focusing solely on restricting children’s access to technology, Digital Pasban emphasizes education, responsible use and giving parents practical tools to help their children navigate the internet.

Four Pillars of Google’s Digital Pasban

At the heart of the initiative are four Google products and programs designed to address different aspects of online safety and digital literacy.

1. Family Link: Giving Parents More Control

Google Family Link provides parents with tools to manage their children’s digital experiences. Parents can set screen-time limits, approve or restrict applications, manage content settings and use device-location features.

The goal is to help parents establish healthier digital routines while giving children an age-appropriate online environment.

2. YouTube: Safer Viewing and Time Management

YouTube’s parental controls allow families to manage content and establish healthier viewing habits through features such as Take a Break and Bedtime reminders.

Google is also introducing a feature that allows parents to control how much time their children spend watching YouTube Shorts, including the option to set Shorts viewing time to zero. This gives parents greater flexibility to limit short-form content when children need to concentrate on schoolwork or other activities.

3. Be Internet Awesome: Teaching Children Digital Citizenship

For younger users, Google’s Be Internet Awesome program introduces online safety through interactive and engaging educational content.

Designed for children aged 7 to 12, the program promotes five core principles: sharing information carefully, recognizing scams, creating secure passwords, treating others respectfully and reporting problems.

The lessons are reinforced through Interland, an interactive game that turns digital-safety concepts into practical experiences for children.

4. Gemini: Encouraging Responsible AI Use

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common in education and everyday life, Digital Pasban also introduces parents and children to Gemini as a tool that should be used responsibly.

Google highlights built-in protections for younger users, including restrictions around harmful role-play and inappropriate content. Gemini’s Guided Learning feature can also support students by helping them work through difficult subjects, asking targeted questions, explaining concepts step by step and providing visual assistance rather than simply giving them an answer.

Taking Online Safety Beyond the Screen

A key part of Digital Pasban is its focus on community-based education.

Google Pakistan and its partners plan to bring the initiative into local communities through parent and guardian safety clinics, school-based town halls, social media campaigns, SMS communication and broadcast media.

These sessions are designed to be practical rather than purely theoretical. Parents can work through real-world scenarios, explore safety settings and learn how to respond to common digital risks alongside other families.

The approach recognizes that technology changes quickly and that parents often need guidance that goes beyond simply knowing which apps their children use.

Google.org Commits $500,000

Alongside the Digital Pasban initiative, Google.org is committing $500,000 to expand evidence-based digital citizenship and AI-safety programs across Pakistan.

Working with local partners, the funding is intended to provide young people and adults with practical skills for building healthier online habits, understanding emerging digital risks and using technology with greater confidence.

What Pakistan’s Digital Leaders Are Saying

PTA Chairman Major General (Retired) Hafeez Ur Rehman described Digital Pasban as a joint effort to build a safer digital environment for children and families in Pakistan.

He highlighted the initiative’s combination of practical tools, localized resources and school-based engagement as a way to help parents guide children toward safer and more responsible digital experiences.

Farhan Qureshi, Google’s Cluster Director for Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Frontier Markets, said Pakistan’s digital ecosystem is expanding rapidly and that protecting children online should go hand in hand with giving them access to technology.

According to Qureshi, Google’s approach is to build safety into its products while strengthening that foundation through initiatives such as Digital Pasban, which give families the digital-literacy skills they need to use the internet with confidence.

Tech Valley CEO Umar Farooq said the initiative addresses a growing gap between children’s increasing use of technology and parents’ ability to guide them through the digital environment. He described the planned safety clinics and parental toolkits as practical resources that families can apply immediately.

Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of JazzWorld, called Digital Pasban a meaningful step toward providing parents and children with practical safety tools, awareness and guidance.

Building on Google’s Digital Education Efforts in Pakistan

Digital Pasban also builds on Google’s previous digital-education initiatives in Pakistan.

Through the Digital Safar program, Google says it has trained more than 300,000 students and 5,000 educators in digital citizenship, combining Be Internet Awesome content with Gemini Academy training.

Google has also partnered with the Punjab government, supporting the migration of its Ministry of Education to Google for Education and extending secure, AI-powered learning tools and safety curricula to 1.5 million students.

A Safer Digital Future for Pakistan

With internet access continuing to expand across Pakistan, the challenge is no longer simply getting families online. Increasingly, it is helping them understand how to use digital platforms safely and responsibly.

Digital Pasban represents Google’s effort to address that challenge through a combination of technology, education, parental guidance and cross-sector collaboration.

By targeting 200,000 households and supporting broader digital-safety programs through Google.org funding, the initiative places digital literacy and online protection at the center of Pakistan’s increasingly connected future.

For Pakistani families, the message behind Digital Pasban is straightforward: being connected should also mean being informed, protected and prepared.

The post Google Launches Digital Pasban to Strengthen Online Safety for Pakistani Families appeared first on Techlist.

Fasieh Mehta – Google Pakistan Country Head

Google formally opened its first office in Pakistan on August 18, 2026. But the bigger story wasn’t the office itself. It was who Google picked to run it.

The company chose Fasieh Mehta as the first head of its Pakistan mission. He’s a Pakistani technology executive who has spent close to two decades building the country’s startup, gaming and developer ecosystem from the inside.

It’s a notable decision. Instead of parachuting in an executive from Mountain View, London or Singapore, Google handed the role to someone who has already worked closely with the community he will now represent: Pakistani founders, game studios, developers and freelancers.

From Industry Head to Country Lead

Mehta joins this role from his previous post as Industry Head for Large Customer Sales — Gaming & Mobile Apps, Pakistan. He had been building out that function even before the Islamabad office existed.

Now, with the office open, he becomes the most senior Pakistan-based Google representative the country has had. And he steps into the job at a critical moment: the government wants to turn IT and IT-enabled services into a $30 billion annual export industry.

Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja publicly congratulated Mehta on the appointment. She called it a milestone that lines up with Pakistan’s broader technology ambitions.

Building Pakistan’s First Startup Incubator

What sets Mehta apart from a typical “country head” hire is where his career actually started. Long before Google had a Pakistan office, Mehta was already on the ground floor of the country’s startup ecosystem.

He was part of the founding team behind Plan9, Pakistan’s first large-scale, government-backed startup incubator. The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) launched Plan9 with Dr. Umar Saif, the technologist and former PITB chairman widely credited as one of the architects of Pakistan’s startup scene.

Mehta ran point on Plan9 from its early planning stages through its first cohort of incubatees, staying on until early 2013. In that short window, Plan9 incubated more than 50 companies. It also drew in over $500,000 in early investment and helped several startups reach Silicon Valley accelerators. In many ways, it became the template for the incubators that followed across Pakistan.

From Public-Sector Digitisation to Gaming and Partnerships

After Plan9, Mehta’s career moved through both public and private sector roles. First, he worked on digital governance projects for the Government of Punjab, leading ICT initiatives that, by his own account, touched an estimated 110 million citizens of the province.

Next, he shifted into gaming and creative technology. He took on business operations and partnerships roles connected to Quixel and Epic Games, representing Pakistan and helping expand adoption of the Unreal Engine and related creator tools across the wider MENAPT region — the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey.

Alongside that, he picked up advisory roles with Pakistani ventures including DeafTawk, an accessibility-focused startup, and Motion Blur Studio. Then, most recently before Google, he served as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Devsinc, one of Pakistan’s largest software development companies. There, he built out the firm’s partner network and worked on high-value deals, gaming studio initiatives and investment discussions.

Throughout, Mehta also built academic credentials to match his career path: an MBA and a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of the Punjab, a master’s degree from SOAS, University of London, and executive training through Draper University and LUMS’ leadership programme for senior executives.

Taken together, this combination — incubator builder, public-sector digitisation lead, gaming-industry connector and partnerships executive — is unusual. And it’s exactly what Google appears to be betting on.

Why Google Picked an Insider

According to local reporting around the appointment, Google’s reasoning comes down to three things Mehta brings that an external hire wouldn’t.

First, he has deep familiarity with Pakistan’s developer and founder community, built over years of direct engagement with startups, game studios and freelancers. Second, he carries credibility inside Google’s global organisation, having already engaged with the company’s offices in Mountain View, London, Dubai and Singapore. Third, and perhaps most importantly, he has earned trust within Pakistan’s tech community through a public track record of advocating for local talent, rather than arriving to build that trust from scratch.

That last point matters more than it might seem. Google’s push into Pakistan is explicitly tied to skills development, local hardware manufacturing and helping Pakistani businesses reach global markets — the same three pillars Google VP Wilson White laid out at the Islamabad office inauguration. So executing on that agenda requires someone who already has the community’s ear.

What the Role Means in Practice

As the first head of Google’s Pakistan mission, Mehta is now positioned to shape how the company engages with the country’s tech industry on the ground. That could mean identifying homegrown apps, games and studios worth promoting internationally. It could also mean championing policies inside Google that benefit Pakistani developers, or connecting local businesses with Google’s global platforms, ad products and cloud services.

Either way, it’s a considerably broader mandate than his previous gaming-and-apps-focused role. It also puts him at the center of a relationship Google has been building with Pakistan for close to two decades — one that goes back to the company’s first documented visit to the country in 2008 and has since expanded through Career Certificate scholarships, developer programmes, AI initiatives and, most recently, local Chromebook assembly.

Fasieh Mehta: Career Timeline

Timeline compiled from Mehta’s public LinkedIn profile and professional record. Exact tenure dates for some earlier roles are approximate, based on publicly available information.

The Bigger Picture

Mehta’s appointment lands the same week Google formally opened its Islamabad office in front of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Techlist.pk covered that moment in detail, tracing Google’s Pakistan journey from a 2008 policy visit to a registered liaison office in 2022, expanding skills programmes, a local Chromebook assembly line, and now a full-fledged office tied to the country’s $30 billion IT-export ambition.

Ultimately, putting a Pakistani technologist with an incubator-to-Big-Tech résumé at the head of that office sends a signal of its own. For Pakistan’s startup founders, game developers and freelancers, it means the person now representing their interests inside Google is someone who has spent his career trying to get them noticed in the first place.

The post Who Is Fasieh Mehta? Meet the First Head of Google’s Pakistan Mission appeared first on Techlist.

A 9-member delegation of Google, led by Mr. Wilson White, Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Islamabad — August 18, 2026
Google opens first Pakistan office, marking a significant new phase in the technology giant’s relationship with one of South Asia’s largest and youngest digital markets.

The Islamabad office, inaugurated on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior Google officials, gives the company a formal on-the-ground presence in Pakistan at a time when the government is aggressively positioning information technology, artificial intelligence, digital services and technology exports as engines of economic growth.

Google Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy Wilson White, who led a nine-member Google delegation to Islamabad, said the company’s long-term commitment to Pakistan was closely aligned with the government’s ambition of turning the country into a $30 billion annual IT export hub.

“This is a very special moment,” White said at the inauguration, noting that Google has been investing in and working with Pakistan for more than a decade.

According to Google, its products and services have contributed more than Rs3.9 trillion in economic activity for Pakistani businesses and households over the past decade, while supporting more than 960,000 jobs.

White said Google’s next phase of engagement would focus on three broad areas: developing Pakistani talent, supporting hardware manufacturing and export infrastructure, and helping local businesses grow.

Islamabad : 18 August, 2026.

PM Shehbaz Sharif Meets Google Delegation to Discuss Digital Transformation; Inaugurates Google First Office in Pakistan to Boost Tech, Youth Upskilling.

A 9-member delegation of Google, led by Mr. Wilson White, Vice President for Government Affairs… pic.twitter.com/ztMadPpqdd

— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) August 18, 2026

For Pakistan, the significance of the office goes beyond having another multinational technology company physically present in Islamabad. It represents the formalisation of a relationship that has gradually expanded from digital products and developer communities into education, skills development, artificial intelligence, hardware manufacturing and now direct local operations.

From a Google presence to a Google office

Google’s relationship with Pakistan is considerably older than Tuesday’s inauguration.

The company’s first officially documented visit to Pakistan by a Googler dates back to 2008, when Google’s public policy team visited Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore and met government officials, technology organisations, media companies and business representatives. At the time, Google described the visit as an opportunity to better understand Pakistan’s rapidly developing internet market.

The company subsequently built its Pakistani presence largely through products, partnerships, local programmes and regional teams rather than a conventional corporate office.

That distinction became particularly important in the years immediately before the current expansion.

In March 2022, when speculation about a possible Google office was growing, Google’s regional leadership said there was no announcement regarding an office opening in Pakistan at that time. That position changed later in the same year.

Google registered in Pakistan in 2022

In November 2022, Google took a major step toward establishing a formal corporate footprint.

Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. was registered with Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) on November 8, 2022, as a foreign company for the establishment of a liaison office in Pakistan.

At the time, the registration was described as preparation for the company to begin more structured operations in the country. Google also announced plans to provide thousands of scholarships to Pakistani citizens as part of its expanding engagement.

The move was significant because it transformed Google’s relationship with Pakistan from one primarily driven through regional operations and local partners into a formally registered presence inside the country.

But it still did not result in the full-scale local office that has now opened.

Skills became the first major pillar

While Google was not yet operating a full local office, its investment in Pakistan’s digital workforce continued to grow.

Through initiatives including Google Career Certificates, developer programmes and partnerships with organisations such as Tech Valley and the Pakistan Freelancers Association, Google increasingly focused on preparing Pakistan’s young population for digital employment.

The scale of those programmes expanded rapidly.

Tech Valley’s Google Career Certificates programme says it began with 15,000 scholarships in 2023, increased to 44,500 in 2024 and reached 100,000 in 2025. For 2026, the programme lists 150,000 scholarships across Pakistan.

That skills-first strategy is particularly relevant to Pakistan’s export ambitions because much of the country’s technology-export opportunity lies not in traditional manufacturing alone, but in software development, freelancing, cloud services, AI, digital marketing, business-process services and other knowledge-based exports.

2024: Google deepens its Pakistan engagement

The relationship gained further momentum in 2024.

A senior Google delegation met Pakistan’s Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja in June that year to discuss education technology, artificial intelligence and the digital economy.

The government also highlighted Google’s work on local Chromebook assembly and digital literacy, while Google continued to expand skills and developer initiatives.

Later that year, Google’s economic impact research became another major talking point.

According to an Access Partnership report cited by Google, its AI-powered products and services generated Rs3.9 trillion in economic benefits for Pakistani businesses and households in 2023.

Google said its services—including Search, Ads, AdSense, Google Play, Google Cloud and YouTube, supported substantial business activity, while its broader ecosystem supported hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The figures helped reinforce Google’s argument that its impact in Pakistan already extended well beyond consumer search.

From software to hardware: Pakistan begins assembling Chromebooks

Perhaps the clearest indication that Google’s Pakistan strategy was evolving came in 2025.

In November 2025, Pakistan’s government and Google announced the country’s first Chromebook assembly line, developed with Google’s local partner Tech Valley and manufacturing partners including the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC).

The initiative was designed around a much larger target: 500,000 Chromebooks to be produced locally.

The government said the project could help establish local manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities while eventually creating opportunities for exports from Pakistan.

This was an important shift.

Google’s Pakistan engagement was no longer limited to training programmes, advertising, search, Android or cloud services. Hardware manufacturing introduced a physical production component to the relationship—and potentially connected Pakistan’s technology strategy with regional hardware supply chains.

The office decision was already underway in 2026

By April 2026, the government’s position was clear: Google had decided to establish an office in Pakistan.

During a meeting in Washington with Google’s Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy Karan Bhatia, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb specifically welcomed Google’s decision to open an office in the country and linked it to the company’s existing work in AI, training, local Chromebook assembly and digital transformation.

The government said at the time that the office was expected to open in July 2026.

The planned local presence therefore represented the next step in a process that had already included corporate registration, education programmes, developer initiatives, AI engagement and local hardware production.

Google now aligns itself with Pakistan’s $30 billion IT ambition

The timing of the office opening is particularly important.

Pakistan has set an ambitious objective of expanding annual IT and IT-enabled services exports to $30 billion.
The target represents a dramatic increase from the country’s current export base, but the government has increasingly made technology a central part of its economic strategy.

In August 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed officials to prepare a comprehensive roadmap with annual targets and measures to push IT exports beyond $30 billion in the coming years.

Google Opens First Pakistan Office in Islamabad.

At that time, Pakistan’s IT exports had reached approximately $3.8 billion in FY2024-25, representing 19 percent growth, according to government figures.

More recently, government figures showed that IT exports had reached $4.2 billion during the first 11 months of FY2025-26, while freelancers generated approximately $1.6 billion during the same period.

The gap between those numbers and the $30 billion ambition remains substantial.

That is precisely why the government’s partnership with major global technology companies matters.

Three areas Google says it will focus on

At Tuesday’s inauguration, Wilson White outlined three areas through which Google intends to contribute to Pakistan’s technology ambitions.

1. Investing in Pakistani talent

Google plans to continue investing in digital skills, AI education and other programmes designed to prepare Pakistan’s workforce for the global digital economy.

This is potentially the most important area for Pakistan because the country’s biggest competitive advantage is its large young workforce.

Google has already established a significant training ecosystem through Career Certificates, developer communities and partnerships with local organisations.

2. Building hardware manufacturing capability

The company’s Chromebook programme is intended to support a local hardware ecosystem.

The manufacturing initiative could potentially create opportunities not only for assembly but also for suppliers, technical workers, logistics companies and eventually exporters.

Google’s decision to highlight hardware alongside skills and local businesses suggests that Pakistan’s role in its regional strategy may extend beyond being a market for Google’s products.

3. Helping Pakistani businesses reach global markets

Google also sees an opportunity to help Pakistani businesses digitise, advertise internationally and reach customers outside Pakistan.

That could be particularly relevant to exporters, startups, software companies, freelancers and small businesses attempting to sell services globally.

Google’s economic impact research has already attributed billions of rupees in economic activity to its platforms in Pakistan, including activity connected to overseas markets.

AI could become the biggest opportunity

Artificial intelligence is likely to become one of the most important areas of Google’s expanded Pakistan strategy.
Google’s own Pakistan-focused AI Opportunity research argues that AI could create substantial economic opportunities by improving productivity, expanding access to skills and reducing barriers to trade.

Google’s Pakistan information page estimates that AI could potentially help boost exports by Rs3.2 trillion, while digital tutors could potentially help millions of Pakistanis gain access to new skills.

The government is also increasingly incorporating AI into its economic plans, including agriculture, manufacturing, education and public-sector digitisation.

That creates an obvious area of overlap between Google’s global AI strategy and Pakistan’s digital transformation agenda.

A milestone—but not the finish line

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed Google’s decision, describing the opening as a major milestone in the partnership.

He said the local presence would help strengthen cooperation and allow programmes to be scaled further, particularly those aimed at empowering Pakistani youth with modern technology.

The inauguration is therefore best understood not as Google’s arrival in Pakistan, but as the formal beginning of a much deeper local chapter.

Google has already spent years building users, developers, businesses and partnerships in the country. The company registered locally in 2022, expanded skills programmes, developed education initiatives, supported the local assembly of Chromebooks and increasingly engaged with Islamabad on AI and digital policy.

Now Google opens first Pakistan office.

The bigger question is what that office will ultimately enable.

For Pakistan, success will not be measured simply by Google’s physical presence in Islamabad. The real test will be whether the partnership helps create export-oriented technology companies, globally competitive developers, AI talent, local manufacturing capacity and businesses capable of earning significantly more foreign exchange.

Pakistan’s $30 billion IT-export ambition is nearly eight times the level of the $3.8 billion achieved in FY2024-25. Reaching it will require far more than one multinational company.

But Google’s decision to establish a permanent local presence sends a powerful signal: one of the world’s largest technology companies increasingly sees Pakistan not merely as a market of more than 240 million people, but as a potential source of talent, technology, manufacturing and globally exportable digital services.

And that may ultimately be the most important story behind Google’s first Pakistan office.

Key milestones in Google’s Pakistan journey

The post Google Opens First Pakistan Office as Pakistan Targets $30 Billion in IT Exports appeared first on Techlist.

Pakistan’s aviation sector is set to welcome a new player as South Air, a newly established private airline, moves closer to launching commercial operations after bringing its first aircraft to the country and successfully conducting trial flights.

The arrival of South Air’s first ATR 72-500 aircraft marks a significant milestone for the airline, which aims to strengthen regional connectivity, improve domestic air travel, and support economic development across underserved regions, particularly South Punjab, Balochistan, and other emerging economic corridors.

The airline is expected to begin commercial operations in June 2026, according to industry reports.

South Air’s First Aircraft Arrives in Pakistan

The ATR 72-500, a turboprop aircraft widely used for regional routes, recently arrived in Pakistan as part of South Air’s plans to establish a reliable domestic network connecting major cities with secondary destinations.

Industry observers believe the airline’s entry could help improve accessibility for travelers from South Punjab, where demand for efficient domestic air connectivity continues to grow.

The development comes at a time when Pakistan is witnessing renewed interest in regional aviation services aimed at reducing travel times and supporting economic integration between provinces.

Trial Flight Successfully Lands at Gwadar International Airport

In another major milestone, South Air successfully operated its first trial flight between Karachi and Gwadar.

Flight Z8-905 departed from Karachi and landed at the New Gwadar International Airport, demonstrating the airline’s operational readiness and commitment to serving strategic destinations across Pakistan.

The launch of services to Gwadar is expected to support the broader vision of enhancing connectivity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), while facilitating passenger movement, cargo transportation, tourism, and business activities.

A spokesperson for the airline stated that improved links between Gwadar’s seaport and airport infrastructure could contribute to transforming the coastal city into a major commercial and transit hub.

What South Air Means for South Punjab

The emergence of South Air has generated particular interest in South Punjab, a region that has long sought stronger air connectivity to major economic centers.

Cities such as Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Rahim Yar Khan could potentially benefit from expanded regional air services, creating new opportunities for business travel, tourism, trade, and investment.

Improved domestic connectivity may also provide residents and businesses with more travel options while supporting regional economic growth.

Employment and Economic Opportunities

Beyond passenger travel, South Air’s launch is expected to contribute to job creation across multiple sectors, including aviation operations, ground handling, customer services, logistics, tourism, and hospitality.

Aviation experts note that the expansion of regional airlines plays a crucial role in improving mobility, encouraging investment, and strengthening links between Pakistan’s major urban centers and developing regions.

South Air Set for June 2026 Launch

With its first aircraft now in Pakistan and trial operations underway, South Air appears on track to commence commercial flights in June 2026.

The airline’s launch represents a notable addition to Pakistan’s aviation industry and could help address growing demand for regional air travel while supporting connectivity, tourism, and economic development across the country.

Key Facts

• South Air has brought its first ATR 72-500 aircraft to Pakistan.
• The airline is expected to launch commercial operations in June 2026.
• South Air successfully conducted a trial flight from Karachi to Gwadar.
• The airline aims to strengthen regional connectivity and domestic tourism.
• South Punjab is expected to benefit from improved air travel options and economic opportunities.
• Gwadar connectivity could support trade, tourism, and CPEC-related development.

The post Pakistan Gets a New Airline as South Air Prepares for Commercial Operations appeared first on Techlist.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has officially granted a license to KOKO Tech Pakistan (Private) Limited, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, to operate Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services in Pakistan.

According to the SECP, KOKO Tech Pakistan will introduce modern, AI-powered credit assessment systems along with globally proven digital infrastructure. This is expected to bring more innovative and data-driven financing solutions to the local market.

The initiative aims to improve access to consumer financing, especially for young individuals, freelancers, and small businesses that often face challenges in obtaining loans through traditional banking systems.

With the backing of Alibaba’s global expertise and strong financial resources, KOKO Tech Pakistan is well-positioned to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), promote e-commerce growth, and contribute to Pakistan’s transition towards a more inclusive, technology-driven financial ecosystem.

The SECP also noted that this move represents a direct inflow of foreign investment into Pakistan’s financial sector.

Speaking on the development, SECP Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said that the entry of Alibaba Group will enhance competition and drive innovation in the country.

He further added that Pakistan continues to be an attractive destination for international investors, thanks to its large population, increasing digital adoption, and improving regulatory environment.

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Over the past decade, Pakistan’s freelance economy has been widely celebrated as a success story, an accessible pathway for young professionals to earn globally without leaving their homes. However, by early 2026, signs of structural stress have become increasingly visible.

Freelancers across major platforms are reporting declining orders, reduced earnings, and growing uncertainty. While anecdotal at first, emerging patterns suggest a broader transformation underway one driven by technological disruption, shifting global demand, and local systemic challenges.

From Rapid Growth to Structural Fragility

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital adoption worldwide, and Pakistan benefited significantly from this shift.

• The country was ranked among the fastest-growing freelance markets globally.
• Freelancers contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign exchange annually.
• Platforms like Fiverr and Upwork became central to this growth.

Despite this success, much of the freelance activity was concentrated in low-complexity services such as basic graphic design, data entry, and entry-level content writing. These categories, while accessible, are inherently vulnerable to automation.

AI as a Structural Disruptor

The introduction of generative AI tools particularly ChatGPT has significantly altered the economics of freelance work.

Recent research indicates a measurable decline in demand for tasks that are easily automated, including writing, basic coding, and repetitive digital services.

A separate multi-institutional study reported an approximate 21% decline in demand for automation-prone freelance jobs following the introduction of generative AI tools.

This shift reflects a broader trend: businesses are increasingly able to generate content, code, and design outputs internally using AI, reducing reliance on external freelancers for routine work.

Market Confidence and Infrastructure Constraints

Beyond technological disruption, infrastructure reliability has also influenced market behavior.

Industry bodies such as Pakistan Software Houses Association have highlighted concerns around:

• Internet reliability
• Policy unpredictability
• Communication disruptions

In global outsourcing markets, reliability is critical. Even minor inconsistencies can prompt clients to shift work to more stable regions.

Platform Dynamics and Increasing Competition

Freelance platforms have also evolved under increasing global competition.

On platforms like Upwork:

• Competition has intensified due to oversupply
• Paid bidding systems have increased the cost of acquiring work

This has made entry and sustainability more difficult, particularly for new or mid-level freelancers.

The Emergence of Low-Value Digital Labor

Another shift is the growing role of freelancers in AI training ecosystems.

Companies such as Scale AI rely on distributed workers for data labeling and model evaluation tasks. While these opportunities provide income, they are typically low-paying and task-based, offering limited long-term growth.

This reflects a transition from independent freelancing toward commoditized digital labor.

Skill Mismatch and Educational Gaps

A structural issue underlying these changes is the mismatch between current skill development and evolving market demand.

Many training programs still emphasize outdated freelance skills, while global demand is shifting toward:

• AI integration
• Automation systems
• Advanced digital problem-solving

Without adaptation, this gap may continue to widen.

The Shift from Tasks to Systems

The freelance economy is transitioning from a task-based model to a systems-based model.

Traditional freelancers typically sell time and complete tasks manually.
Modern AI-enabled professionals, by contrast, design systems that automate workflows and deliver scalable outcomes.

This shift fundamentally changes how value is created and priced in the digital economy.

Opportunities in the New Landscape

Despite current challenges, new opportunities are emerging in areas such as:

• AI automation and workflow design
• Prompt engineering
• AI-assisted development
• Business process optimization

Professionals who adapt to these areas are better positioned to remain competitive.

Policy and Ecosystem Considerations

To sustain growth in the Pakistan’s freelance economy, structural improvements are needed:

• Updated and industry-relevant curricula
• Investment in applied AI education
• Reliable internet infrastructure
• Alignment between policy and global technological trends

Conclusion

Pakistan’s freelance economy is not disappearing, it is evolving.

The current slowdown reflects a deeper structural transformation driven by automation, shifting demand, and systemic inefficiencies.

For individuals and institutions alike, the path forward depends on adaptation. The divide is no longer between freelancers and clients, but between those who can effectively leverage AI and those who cannot.

Links:

•  “The Impact of ChatGPT Launch on the Demand for Content Generation Services in the Freelancing Market,” SSRN Working Paper.
  Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4686658
•  “Who Is AI Replacing? The Impact of Generative AI on Online Freelancing Platforms,” research associated with Harvard Business School and partner institutions (Imperial College Business School, DIW Berlin). Widely cited in secondary analyses reporting ~21% decline in automation-prone freelance jobs.
• https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/02/17/pakistani-freelancers-earn-557-million-in-h1-fy26-driving-growth-in-services-exports/
• https://www.payoneer.com/resources/no-ports-no-tariffs-how-pakistans-online-service-exporters-stay-resilient/

The post Pakistan’s Freelance Economy at a Crossroads: AI Disruption, Policy Gaps, and the Rise of a New Digital Elite appeared first on Techlist.

Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services sector recorded $2.97 billion in export inflows during July to February FY2026, marking a 19.6% year-on-year increase. However, a steady drop in monthly receipts over the past two months has tempered expectations around the government’s $5 billion annual target.

IT Exports Hit $2.97 Billion in July to February FY2026

According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan’s ICT export earnings grew by 19.78% year-on-year, reaching $2.61 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year ending June 2026, up from $2.18 billion during the same period last year. Cumulative inflows reached $2.97 billion by the end of February 2026, compared with $2.48 billion in the same period of FY2025.

IT exports now account for over 10.8% of Pakistan’s total exports. This is considered a historic milestone, reflecting the country’s gradual economic shift from traditional goods like textiles and rice toward high-value digital services.

Monthly Receipts Show a Two-Month Decline

Despite the cumulative growth, monthly figures reveal a softening trend. The sector peaked at $437 million in December 2025, before declining to $374 million in January 2026 and $365 million in February 2026, a drop of over 16% in just two months.

Analysts project exports to grow 18 to 20% in FY2026, which could bring the total to around $4.5 billion. This figure still falls short of the ambitious $5 billion target set under the government’s national economic plan, Uraan Pakistan. At the current monthly run rate of approximately $365 million, full-year IT exports are likely to plateau around $4.4 to $4.5 billion.

Geopolitical and Regional Pressures Add Uncertainty

The slowdown in monthly inflows is partly attributed to broader global uncertainty. Ongoing regional tensions have prompted clients, particularly across the US and GCC markets, to delay digital transformation and expansion projects. This has reduced near-term order flow for Pakistani IT firms.

The growing tendency of international companies to outsource software development, cybersecurity, and digital transformation projects has boosted Pakistan’s profile as an affordable IT services provider. Even so, regional instability continues to introduce uncertainty into forward planning for many of these engagements.

Beyond export figures, Pakistan’s broader startup ecosystem reflects a market in a phase of cautious maturation, with genuine momentum tempered by structural funding constraints.

Ecosystem Value Surpasses $4 Billion

Pakistan’s venture capital-backed startups have surpassed a combined enterprise value of $4 billion, up 3.6 times since 2020, according to the January 2026 Pakistan Tech Report by Dealroom.co and inDrive. The growth rate outpaces larger ecosystems including India, New York, Paris, and Dubai, placing Pakistan among emerging “New Frontier” tech markets.

The country now hosts over 170 VC-backed startups, with roughly 17 “breakouts” that have raised between $15 million and $100 million, two scale-ups that have crossed $100 million in funding, and 13 “Colts” generating between $25 million and $100 million in annual revenue.

According to TechList Pakistan, which tracks startup funding activity across the country, deal flow in early-stage rounds, particularly pre-seed and seed, has remained consistent through Q1 2026. Fintech, healthtech, and B2B SaaS have emerged as the three most active verticals during this period.

Startup Funding Rebounds in 2025

Pakistani startups secured over $74.23 million in equity and hybrid financing in 2025, spanning pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds across fintech, mobility, healthtech, and other sectors. According to Data Darbar, local startups raised about $36.6 million in equity across 10 disclosed rounds, a modest increase from $22.5 million the previous year, though deal volume slipped slightly from 15 to 14 transactions.

Fintech and Healthtech Lead Investment Activity

The fintech sector continues to dominate investment activity, with startups such as Haball and Metric securing sizeable Pre-Series A and seed funding rounds. Analysts say fintech’s appeal lies in its ability to integrate with banking infrastructure, simplify payments, and tap into an underserved market of SMEs and digital consumers.

Haball secured a $52 million Pre-Series A funding round led by Zayn VC and backed by Meezan Bank. The company has scaled its platform to handle over $3 billion in payments, disbursing more than $110 million in financing while supporting thousands of SMEs and multinational clients.

Healthtech is emerging as the second major growth engine. MedIQ’s $6 million Series A and Xylexa’s $1 million seed round highlight strong investor appetite for solutions that address healthcare accessibility, a critical need in a country of over 240 million people.

No Unicorns Yet: The Capital Gap Remains

Despite the momentum, no Pakistani startup has yet reached unicorn status or surpassed $100 million in annual revenue. Limited domestic capital is widely identified as the primary bottleneck holding the ecosystem back from the next level of scale.
Globally, venture capital investment reached $512.6 billion in 2025, up 30.8% from 2024, with artificial intelligence alone accounting for $270.2 billion. For Pakistan, these global trends highlight the structural challenge of competing in capital-intensive sectors like AI without matching infrastructure or investment scale.

Female-Founded Startups Gain Ground

One of 2025’s notable trends is the rise of female-led startups, which raised $8.8 million in disclosed equity, accounting for more than 24% of total funding. Startups including Shadiyana, BusCaro, Metric, MedIQ, and Lean Outset were among the female-founded or co-founded ventures contributing to this shift. TechList Pakistan has closely documented this trend through its founder coverage and funding trackers.

Policy Reforms Supporting Export Growth

The State Bank of Pakistan raised the permissible retention limit in Exporters’ Specialised Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCA) from 35% to 50%. This allows IT exporters to retain a larger share of their dollar earnings, a reform that has provided greater liquidity for companies reinvesting in global operations.

Pakistan’s 5G spectrum auction, conducted in March 2026, is expected to unlock new product categories in healthtech, edtech, IoT, and industrial automation that have remained structurally inaccessible on existing infrastructure. Building quality talent, empowering grassroots entrepreneurship, and accelerating local AI adoption are identified as the three pillars needed to position Pakistan as a competitive global IT export hub.

Long-Term Target: $10 Billion by 2029

National long-term targets foresee $10 billion in annual IT exports by 2029, a goal that requires a significant acceleration from the current growth trajectory. IT exports now constitute over 40% of Pakistan’s total services exports, supporting foreign exchange stability, high-value employment, and entrepreneurship. This cements the sector as a core pillar of Pakistan’s broader economic strategy.

Closing the gap between the current pace and the $5 billion FY2026 target will require reversing the recent monthly decline, broadening client geographies beyond the US and Gulf, and continuing to scale startups into globally competitive businesses. The structural groundwork is being laid, but sustained execution remains the sector’s defining test going forward.

Sources: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Data Darbar, Dealroom.co / inDrive Pakistan Tech Report (January 2026), Topline Research, Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), TechList Pakistan.

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The platform, named Wukong, enables businesses to automate complex workflows by coordinating multiple AI agents within a single interface. It can handle tasks such as document editing, spreadsheet management, meeting transcription, and research, making it a comprehensive productivity tool. Currently, Wukong is available through an invitation-only beta program.

The launch follows the company’s recent restructuring under the newly formed Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) business group, highlighting a stronger focus on enterprise-level AI solutions. Wukong is positioned as the flagship product of the Wukong Business Unit within ATH.

Read: Nvidia bets on AI inference as chip revenue opportunity hits $1 trillion

Users can access Wukong either as a standalone desktop application or via DingTalk, Alibaba’s workplace collaboration platform used by over 20 million corporate users.

In addition, the platform is expected to integrate with other popular communication tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WeChat, according to the company’s official statement.

The move comes amid rising interest in AI agent technologies in China, largely driven by the popularity of OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent tool that has recently gained traction across the tech community.

This growing trend has pushed major tech players, including ByteDance, Tencent, and AI startup Zhipu AI, to introduce similar solutions, despite increasing concerns from regulators over potential security risks.

Chinese companies, many of which provide open-source AI models that are free to download, have significantly reduced token prices as competition intensifies across the domestic market.

Leading models such as DeepSeek, Qwen, and ChatGLM are now priced 10 to 20 times lower than their U.S. counterparts. This aggressive pricing strategy is helping Chinese firms expand their global footprint, but it is also raising concerns about long-term profitability in the sector.

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Jazz International Holding Limited, a subsidiary of global telecom group VEON incorporated in the UAE, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in TPL Insurance Limited, a publicly listed insurance company in Pakistan. The acquisition deal is valued at approximately Rs4.15 billion, marking a significant development in Pakistan’s digital financial services landscape.

TPL Insurance operates as a digital-first insurance provider, offering a range of insurance products including auto, health, fire, and property coverage. The company has built a strong presence in Pakistan’s InsurTech sector with a technology-driven operating model and established distribution network.

According to company data, TPL Insurance recorded Gross Written Premium (GWP) of Rs5.7 billion and issued more than 277,000 insurance policies as of December 31, 2025. The company holds a general insurer license and maintains an AA credit rating, reflecting its financial stability and operational performance in the insurance sector.

The acquisition aligns with Jazz’s broader strategy to expand its digital services ecosystem and strengthen its presence in financial technology and digital financial services.

Aamir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer of Jazz, stated that the acquisition represents a key milestone in the company’s long-term vision of creating a comprehensive digital platform that extends beyond telecom services.

He noted that integrating insurance services into Jazz’s digital financial portfolio, which includes JazzCash, Mobilink Bank, and FikrFree — will enable the company to provide broader financial protection services to millions of users across Pakistan.

Pakistan’s insurance penetration remains significantly low compared to global averages, leaving a large portion of the population without financial protection against risks. Industry experts believe that digital distribution channels can play a major role in bridging this gap by making insurance products more accessible and affordable.

Through this acquisition, Jazz aims to leverage its large digital user base and fintech infrastructure to scale technology-driven insurance products and accelerate the adoption of digital insurance services in the country.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to necessary regulatory approvals. The deal between TPL Corp Limited and Jazz International Holding Limited will also require clearance from the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) before completion.

Once finalized, the acquisition could significantly strengthen the digital insurance ecosystem in Pakistan and contribute to expanding financial inclusion through integrated fintech and insurance services.

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Arsyan Ismail – Early first of ai.com domain name

A domain name registered by a Malaysian child in the early days of the internet has become one of the most valuable digital assets ever sold. AI.com, originally secured in 1993 by Arsyan Ismail when he was just 10 years old, has been sold for USD 70 million in a landmark transaction that underscores the growing strategic value of ultra-premium web addresses.

Arsyan Ismail registered the two-letter domain using his mother’s credit card, reportedly charging $100 at the time. The choice was simple: the letters matched his initials, “A” and “I.” There was no market forecast or long-term investment framework behind the decision — only instinct and curiosity during the internet’s formative years.

More than three decades later, that early registration has culminated in one of the largest publicly known domain sales. The buyer, Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, completed the purchase in cryptocurrency in April 2025. The deal remained private for months before becoming public, drawing global attention across technology and investment circles.

A Career Built Before the AI Boom

While the sale has dominated headlines, it represents just one chapter in Ismail’s broader technology career.

A computer science graduate from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, Ismail began building online platforms in the late 1990s. In 2003, he helped launch Kawanster, one of Malaysia’s earliest social networking platforms, at a time when online communities were still emerging globally. Though it did not expand internationally, it introduced localized social networking to Malaysian users well before global platforms took over the market.

He later contributed to Malaysia’s first blog advertising network, Nuffnang, during a period when digital advertising infrastructure in Southeast Asia was still developing. His experience also includes serving as a senior web developer at Friendster, where he worked on large-scale systems during the platform’s peak traffic years.

Over the past decade, his focus shifted toward blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. By 2014, he was already exploring Bitcoin-related initiatives, years before digital assets gained mainstream institutional recognition. His work centered on building secure, transparent transaction systems designed to withstand technical and regulatory scrutiny.

Digital Scarcity as Strategy

Beyond AI.com, Ismail has accumulated a portfolio of rare digital identifiers — including ultra-short domain names, minimalist email addresses such as a@a.ai, Ethereum Name Service assets, and distinctive numeric phone numbers. To many, such holdings may appear unconventional. In digital branding terms, however, brevity and memorability carry substantial long-term value.

Two-letter domains in particular represent extreme scarcity. With only 676 possible combinations in the Latin alphabet, they function as digital equivalents of prime real estate. Long before artificial intelligence became a dominant global industry, AI.com carried inherent strategic weight due to its simplicity and universal recognition.

AI.com’s Next Chapter

The domain’s new ownership has shifted attention from the transaction price to its intended application. The AI.com platform is expected to support decentralized AI agents designed to operate collaboratively, automating tasks and optimizing workflows while prioritizing encrypted, secure data handling.

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in enterprise and consumer systems, premium digital real estate tied directly to the sector’s name carries both symbolic and commercial significance.

A Lesson in Long-Term Thinking

For early-stage entrepreneurs, the story highlights the power of patience in digital investing. What began as a $100 domain registration in the early 1990s evolved into a multi-decade hold that intersected with blockchain growth and the global AI surge.

Ismail’s trajectory reflects consistent engagement with emerging technologies rather than reactive trend-chasing. From early social networks to digital advertising infrastructure and blockchain systems, his career has followed the arc of the modern internet itself.

As online ecosystems grow more crowded, compact and memorable digital identities are increasingly positioned as strategic assets. The AI.com sale demonstrates that in the digital economy, scarcity combined with foresight can yield extraordinary returns — even when the original decision was made by a ten-year-old with little more than intuition.

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