Comment by Riaz Haq on September 28, 2026 at 3:32pm

Building localized AI Models

By Nasir Jamal

https://www.dawn.com/news/2033093


Agriculture provides another practical use. AI systems could combine weather information, crop data, satellite imagery and local knowledge to provide farmers with timely advice. Such tools would not replace agricultural experts. They could extend their reach to communities that have limited access to them.

Healthcare and education also offer large potential gains. AI-assisted systems could help process medical records, support clinical workflows and expand access to basic information. In education, affordable AI tutors could provide personalised assistance to students while teachers could use the technology to prepare lessons and identify learning gaps.

The public sector should not be overlooked. Pakistan’s government generates enormous volumes of regulations, statistics, court documents, administrative records and public information. AI systems could make these materials easier to search and analyse. They could also reduce routine administrative work. Tax administration, for example, could use AI to identify anomalies and improve communication with taxpayers.

The economic case may be even stronger. Pakistan has struggled to raise productivity and expand exports fast enough to support sustained growth. AI offers a chance to sell higher-value digital services to international markets. Instead of competing mainly on labour costs, Pakistani firms could develop specialised solutions for finance, logistics, agriculture, education, manufacturing and other sectors. That requires investment.

Pakistan needs reliable electricity, better connectivity, cloud infrastructure, data centres and affordable access to computing. Universities need stronger links with industry. Engineering and computer-science programmes must give greater weight to machine learning, data engineering, AI systems and related fields.

This is an area where cooperation with China and BRICS countries could be useful. Pakistan could seek joint computing facilities, technical training, research partnerships and AI applications for local industries. It could also use BRICS platforms to secure access to infrastructure and expertise that would otherwise be expensive. Chinese technology can give Pakistan an alternative to systems dominated by Western companies. Data governance will be central to that effort.

Pakistan needs clear rules on where sensitive data is stored, who can access it and how AI systems can use it. Critical government and infrastructure data should receive particular protection. At the same time, regulation should not become so restrictive that it prevents researchers and businesses from building useful applications.

India has invested heavily in AI capacity while remaining attentive to questions of data security, strategic autonomy and technological dependence. Pakistan faces a similar policy challenge. This is also why AI governance matters.

For Pakistan, the test should be practical. Can a university train and fine-tune a model without prohibitive computing costs? Can a Pakistani company build an AI product for global customers? Can a student use an effective tutor, and a farmer receive useful information, in a local language? Can a government department process thousands of documents without exposing citizens’ private data?

Pakistan should engage with the BRICS initiative, but it should do so with a clear national strategy. It should seek access to models and computing, demand skills transfer, support local developers and establish rules that protect data without strangling innovation.

Most importantly, Pakistan should stop viewing AI simply as another imported technology. The strategic objective is to become a builder, adapter and exporter of AI solutions. China’s proposal may open the door. Pakistan’s task is to walk through it with its own engineers, its own companies, its own languages and its own priorities.

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 29, 2026 at 8:56am

India readies $25 billion for Deep Tech investment as U.S. and China race ahead

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/india-investment-billions-tech-ai-u...


India is planning to invest $25 billion in its nascent deep tech industry as it tries to catch up to China and the U.S.
Deep tech is a broad term used for start-ups in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, drones and space tech.
Deep tech is becoming “very critical” to every country amid rising geopolitical tensions, leading to an investment push from the Indian government.
While venture capital and private equity leaders in India are confident that a global Deep Tech champion would emerge out of India, they were hesitant to put a timeline on it.

India is preparing to deploy $25 billion to support Deep Tech start-ups in the country, as it tries to catch up with the U.S. and China in the global tech race to cut its reliance on frontier foreign technology.

In the last decade, India invested $11.6 billion in Deep Tech, Rajat Tandon, president of the Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association, told CNBC.


But now, the government alone has committed to invest $11 billion under the Research Development Infrastructure Fund, which will be matched by venture capital and private equity fund managers, he said.

Three or four billion more will be added, making ”$25 billion available to be spent on Deep-Tech investments,” Tandon said.

Deep Tech is a broad term used for start-ups in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, drones and space tech. Experts told CNBC that the funding push comes as the government has realized that frontier tech is becoming “very critical” amid rising geopolitical tensions.

China and the U.S. currently lead the global AI race, and while Chinese tech is seen with suspicion in India, Washington’s curbs on tech exports make it unreliable.

“Tariffs from the U.S. actually help this [Deep Tech] segment a lot,” Anandamoy Roychowdhury, managing director of Crane Venture Partners, said, adding that India will develop local Deep Tech companies as it fears that “important technology can get cut off at any point.”

Some of these fears were realized earlier in June when Anthropic disabled access to its new models — Fable 5 and Mythos 5 — for foreign nationals, complying with an export-control directive from the U.S. government.

The start-up funding leaders who had gathered for SuperReturn Asia said that India’s Deep Tech companies were at a nascent stage but added that the ecosystem was poised to create global champions eventually given the quality of ideas and talent in the country.

There is a “dramatic acceleration of innovation” in the Deep Tech space in India, Shweta Rajpal Kohli, president and chief executive of Startup Policy Forum, said, adding that some companies are moving from prototype to “real commercialization.”

Earlier this year, Vibe-coding startup Emergent, space tech company Skyroot and India’s full-stack sovereign AI company Sarvam became unicorns as their valuations crossed $1 billion during the latest fundraising round.

‘Candy store’

“I feel like a kid in a candy store,” Roychowdhury of Crane Ventures said, describing his experience of scouting for Deep Tech start-up investments in the country. About 80% of his $150 million APAC fund is currently concentrated in India, he shared.

In August, the IVCA, in a report, said that its survey across 100 funds in the country showed that nine out of 10 funds in India were deploying capital in Deep Tech startups, with 37% holding a stake in 11-20 such companies,

The report added that in 2025 the sector received nearly $3 billion in funding—its highest ever, even as overall start-up funding in India fell. However, it also underscored the massive funding gap with the U.S., where $136 billion was raised.

One of the key disadvantages for Indian Deep Tech start-ups over those in the U.S. is the lack of domestic capital required to scale these long-gestation, innovative investments.

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 10, 2026 at 1:38pm

Ather Salem®
@AthSal01
Translated from Urdu
Pakistan has provided China with land, sea, and air routes for trade, and now it has also granted a digital route.

♦️ China and Pakistan have signed an agreement to route internet traffic through Pakistan. This will generate $400 million in revenue. That is, China will receive internet data from Pakistan and the rest of the world via Pakistan's route. By using Pakistan's route, China will be able to send data to the entire world at six times the current speed, and in return, Pakistan will receive an annual rent of approximately $400 million.
🔹 Alhamdulillah, Pakistan has the complete infrastructure to provide China with this digital service because fiber optic cable is laid in Pakistan from Kashgar to Karachi. By utilizing this digital corridor, China—the world's largest internet-using country—will become even closer to other countries. China's population currently consists of approximately 1.445 billion people, of which 73 percent, or about 1.0575 billion individuals, use the internet. Just imagine the profound impact it will have on Pakistan's digital market when the internet data of all these people passes through Pakistan's digital corridor.

https://x.com/AthSal01/status/2108753238501810297?s=20

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The China-Pakistan Digital Corridor (CPDC) is a key pillar of CPEC Phase 2 (CPEC 2.0), shifting the bilateral partnership from traditional physical infrastructure (roads, ports, and power plants) toward information and communication technology (ICT) and digital integration. [1, 2]
Core Objectives & Scope
Bilateral Agreements: Pakistan and China signed 24 major agreements (1 government-to-government, 7 government-to-business, and 16 business-to-business) in Beijing to accelerate digital collaboration. [1]
ICT Infrastructure: Expansion of cross-border fiber-optic cables (building on the 820 km Khunjerab-Rawalpindi cable), 5G/6G networks, data centers, cloud computing, and satellite navigation. [1, 2, 3]
Emerging Technologies: Joint development in artificial intelligence (AI), smart manufacturing, IoT, quantum computing, and a computer emergency response team (CERT) for cyber-incident response. [1, 2, 3]
Urban & Governance Integration: Adoption of Chinese AI-powered surveillance frameworks, Safe City technologies, and digital governance tools under expanded strategic compacts. [1]

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 10, 2026 at 1:43pm

The landscape for super apps in Pakistan :

• • SuperApp Pakistan (superapp.pk): A digital ecosystem and business communication platform featuring bilingual AI agents in Urdu and English, OyeBunny food delivery, Super Mall shopping, bill payments, and enterprise/government complaint dashboards. [1, 2]

• Government Public Services Super App: Announced by the Ministry of Information Technology, Pakistan is developing an official super app to let citizens access public services and verify documents digitally (reducing visits to offices like NADRA and the Higher Education Commission). [1]

• Private & Multi-Service Ecosystems: Platforms like EasyPaisa, Blinka/Bakea, and Careem function as regional super apps by combining mobile wallets, ride-hailing, and commerce, while inDrive is expanding its local footprint toward an integrated super-platform. [1, 2, 3]

• Past and Ongoing Debates: Earlier efforts like Jazz/Veon's app and broader industry discussions (covered by outlets like Dawn) highlight the ongoing push to unify payments, communication, and government tools into single-login digital experiences.

https://www.dawn.com/news/2034769

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 10, 2026 at 7:46pm

. [1, 2]

Key Urdu and Multilingual AI Platforms for Farmers

• Kissan Dost Bashir: Launched by Telenor Pakistan via its Khushaal Watan platform, this is a 24/7 Urdu conversational voice bot available by dialing 7272 or visiting 7272.pk. It provides real-time mandi (market) rates, weather advisories, and livestock guidance. [1]

• Savera: Developed by Syngenta through the Cropwise Grower app, Savera is an AI-powered farming advisor that understands regional languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, and Siraiki to help with crop care and pest management. [1]

• KissanBot: Built by Concave AGRI, KissanBot offers context-aware text and speech answers in Urdu covering major crops like wheat, rice, and maize using updates from provincial agriculture databases. Learn more at Concave AGRI KissanBot. [1, 2]

• Urdu AI / Urdu AI Dost: A grassroots initiative turning artificial intelligence into practical learning for rural communities, farmers, and students across Pakistan. Explore their impact and resources at Urdu AI Impact. [1, 2]

Comment by Riaz Haq 11 hours ago

Pakistan’s Artificial Intelligence Warfare – The Diplomat

https://thediplomat.com/2026/10/pakistans-artificial-intelligence-w...

Last year, Pakistan unveiled its National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025 to regulate AI usage. Pakistan’s military forces have already deployed AI to enhance their capabilities through research units, such as the Army Center of Emerging Technologies and the Pakistan Air Force-run Center for Artificial Intelligence and Computing (CENTAIC). 

Pakistan has also unveiled a gamut of AI-enabled military weapons, including equipment manufactured by the state-owned Global Industrial & Defense Solutions (GIDS). These include unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), such as Shahpar-II,and the Spider Anti-UAV system. Pakistan and India used numerous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the 2025 clashes, with Islamabad deploying YIHA-III drones manufactured by the Turkish defense contractor Baykar in addition to Shahpar-II. 

 

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Military sources reveal that Pakistan is also close to deploying robots. “Law enforcement authorities already have robots in bomb disposal units. Robots are also performing reconnaissance tasks, including in border areas. Now we are working on using robots to lead clearance operations, along with transporting ammunition and supplies in military operations in [Khyber] Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” said a senior officer.

The security agencies have already run drills with Chinese robotic wolves. There are plans to produce similar machines indigenously, as well as humanoid and bipedal robots.

“To keep pace with India, and to nullify terrorist groups, we are always integrating new technologies in military and law enforcement agencies. However, the biggest challenge is developing our capacity due to the lack of resources and the economic challenges,” Lieutenant General Talat Masood, a former secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Defense Production, told The Diplomat. In this regard, Pakistan continues to benefit from Chinese architectural support for CENTAIC. Beijing is also helping Islamabad use facial recognition technology, as Pakistani security agencies gradually expand its deployment to sensitive areas, including border checkpoints and terror hotspots.

Along with fortifying security capacities, however, the Pakistani state is also using these AI-powered technologies to maintain the military establishment’s stranglehold and quell any regional or political dissent. The Diplomat has learned that the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), is allocating resources for “narrative building.” In addition to producing various forms of media, the ISPR also employs tech professionals to engage in countering what the establishment deems to be “anti-state propaganda,” a misnomer for critiques of the armed forces, the country’s military leadership, and their policies. 

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“A good chunk of money is going into algorithmic filtering and monitoring, and tools are being used to erase social media anonymity and target individuals accordingly. Many professionals in the IT sector and the media industry are working on these projects,” revealed a senior digital media professional working at one of Pakistan’s largest media houses. 

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