Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said that the Universal Service Fund (USF) had played a key role in promoting the IT industry and empowering women across the country.
She emphasised that, without full gender inclusion, it was difficult to achieve technological development and national progress. She added that the role of the USF in promoting Pakistan’s IT sector could not be ignored.
Khawaja made these remarks while addressing the “Girls in ICT for Inclusive Digital Transformation” event as the chief guest.
The event had been organised by the USF in connection with International Women’s Day 2025.
She stated that, by connecting remote areas to the digital world, the USF had supported women, startups, freelancers, and social media influencers, enabling them to seize new opportunities and contribute to economic growth and innovation.
The federal minister said that Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif had distributed 1.2 million laptops to the youth during his various tenures.
She further stated that the Ministry of IT had provided online freelance training to 4.5 million people through the DG Skills programmes.
“As a Pakistani woman, I have directly witnessed the transformation brought by technology in the life of a young woman,” said Khawaja.
She added that plans to empower women in technology had begun to bear fruit over the past years. According to her, this success reflected her tireless work and the government’s supportive policies.
Highlighting the National Broadband Initiative, the federal minister stated that the USF had installed 4,400 mobile towers across all four provinces through 161 projects, without any discrimination.
She added that over 1,000 towns and union councils had been connected via 17,200 kilometres of optical fibre cable.
She noted that, in this way, more than 37 million people in remote areas had gained access to digital services.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Universal Service Fund CEO Chaudhry Mudassar Naveed said that it was an honour to organise a ceremony for ICT Day 2025, which had been globally observed since 2011 under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union.
He stated that the occasion served as a reminder that comprehensive digital transformation was not just a vision but a critical necessity.
Chaudhry said that the USF had not launched any new projects over the past two years. He explained that this had been due to a focus on the timely completion of ongoing projects.
In accordance with the directives of the Federal Minister for IT and the Board of Directors, their priority had been to complete the field and technical preparations for future initiatives.
He confirmed that tenders had been issued for 16 new projects, initiating the formal process of implementation.
A panel discussion had also been organised at the event, featuring Ms Sara Qureshi, Ms Yumna Majeed, Ms Mahnoor Salman and Ms Shawana Iftikhar.
The participants shared their insights and experiences related to empowering girls in the ICT sector.
