Pak govt introduces bill to create digital identity for citizens

Islamabad, Dec 16 (PTI) Pakistan government on Monday introduced a bill in the parliament that aimed at creating a digital identity for citizens, to centralise social, economic, and governance data.

The Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, 2024, was tabled in the National Assembly by Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Khawaja.

The agenda of the assembly shared with media stated that the proposed legislation would “provide for the transformation of Pakistan into a digital nation, enabling a digital society, digital economy and digital governance”.

The bill stated that it was expedient to enable the people to become a digital nation by leveraging the transformative power of digital technologies, responsible use of data, innovative service delivery models and robust digital public infrastructure to accelerate sustainable economic development, improve citizen well-being, and modernise governance frameworks for efficient and effective public service delivery.

The proposed legislation said it was expedient to create a forward-looking digital society, foster a thriving digital economy and establish a collaborative digital governance ecosystem with secure, inclusive, and interoperable digital public infrastructure as a key enabler supporting innovation, connectivity and seamless integration across sectors.

The bill said the establishment of the National Digital Commission (NDC) and the Pakistan Digital Authority were necessary and would provide strategic direction, governance and operational oversight required to achieve the above objectives.

According to the bill, the NDC will be headed by the prime minister, including all four chief ministers and heads of organisations like the State Bank, Federal Board of Revenue and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority; while the Pakistan Digital Authority would be led by top industry experts.

It would include data about an individual’s health, assets and other social indicators.

The bill’s objective, as stated by officials, was to improve access to departments managing ID cards, land records, birth certificates and health records. The digitisation effort would also target government departments, which will be given goal-oriented plans to improve services.

Khawaja said the bill would soon be passed by parliament to establish a unified digital identity for citizens, aiming to centralise social, economic and governance data.

Earlier in the day, addressing the National Broadband Network (NBN) Forum 2024 Gigabit for All, the minister said the legislation would “enable the transformation of Pakistan into a digital nation, fostering a digital society, digital economy and digital governance”. PTI SH SCY SCY