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EVERY discussion about data protection in Pakistan reaches the same conclusion: we still don’t have a comprehensive data privacy law.
Technically, that’s true. The Personal Data Protection Bill has sat in draft form since 2018, and after years of delay it’s easy to assume Pakistan’s approach to data governance is on hold.
That assumption can now be challenged.
While attention stayed fixed on the stalled privacy bill, another development moved far faster. In late June, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) released the draft National Data Governance Policy 2026 for public consultation. That consultation closed on July 10. This week, MoITT and the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) held a high-level meeting, chaired by Federal Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, to finalise the policy ahead of cabinet approval and gazette notification.
