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Govt’s Cloud First Policy Attracts 6 Service Providers

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The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has received six applications from cloud service providers seeking accreditation under the government’s Cloud First Policy, the National Assembly was informed.

The information was shared in a written reply by Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja to a question raised by MNA Syeda Amnah Batool. The applications are currently under assessment by the ministry.

The minister told the House that MoITT has examined the potential use of Pakistan’s locally hosted Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cloud and Data Centre set up by Data Vault Pakistan.

The facility was launched in November in collaboration with Nvidia. She said the infrastructure, which includes sovereign AI, GPU-as-a-Service, and AI Cloud capabilities, could support government digital services while ensuring data residency, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.

According to the reply, the initiative is aligned with Pakistan’s National AI Policy and Cloud First Policy. However, the minister clarified that MoITT has not been formally onboarded or approached for production workloads related to the AI Cloud and Data Centre. She added that Data Vault Pakistan has not yet submitted an application for accreditation.

Subject to government procedures, security clearances, and inter-ministerial consultation, the ministry may consider pilot projects and phased adoption of such infrastructure in the future.

The minister identified possible areas, including e-governance and digital public service platforms, cybersecurity initiatives such as Security Operations Centres (SOCs) and the national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), secure government data hosting and analytics, sector-specific AI use cases, and public sector AI research and innovation.

The minister further informed the House that internationally, governments have adopted public-private partnership models for hosting sovereign digital and AI services.

Citing examples from the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and United Arab Emirates, she said these models show that sovereign AI infrastructure and global service provisioning can operate together under proper governance, security, and policy frameworks. She added that such infrastructure would contribute to Pakistan’s national AI compute capacity and broader policy objectives.





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Govt to Launch World Bank-Funded Digital Platform for Public Services

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Pakistan is set to roll out a unified digital government platform. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has invited proposals for a major national-level project aimed at transforming how public services are delivered across the country.

The initiative is being financed by the World Bank and focuses on building a centralized and integrated digital system that connects federal and provincial departments. Officials say the move is expected to significantly improve transparency, coordination, and overall service delivery for citizens.

Eligible firms from Pakistan and abroad have been asked to submit proposals for the design, development, implementation, and ongoing support of the platform.

The procurement process will follow international competitive bidding standards in line with World Bank regulations, ensuring openness and wider participation.

To facilitate bidders, the ministry will hold a virtual pre-proposal session later this month, where participants can seek clarifications and better understand project requirements. Relevant documents have already been made accessible online through official channels.

The deadline for submission of proposals has been set for the end of March 2026. Following this, authorities will begin a structured evaluation process based on predefined criteria.

The project is being seen as a key step in Pakistan’s broader push toward digital governance, as the government looks to accelerate its transition to a more efficient and digitally enabled public sector.





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easypaisa Launches In-App Chatbot ‘ello’ to Redefine Customer Experience for Millions

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easypaisa digital bank has unveiled its AI-powered in-app chatbot, “ello,” marking a major step forward in its commitment to delivering smarter, faster, and more accessible financial services to millions of Pakistanis.

The launch of ello reflects easypaisa’s continued investment in artificial intelligence to enhance customer experience and drive greater financial inclusion. Designed to provide instant support and seamless self-service, ello brings banking convenience directly into customers’ hands, right within the easypaisa app.

Activating ello is simple and intuitive: customers log in to their easypaisa app and gently shake their phone. The friendly chatbot instantly appears, ready to assist.

Through ello, easypaisa users can access a wide range of services, including:

  • Product Knowledge Hub: unified center for product information, the product aims to enhance customer knowledge on different products within easypaisa.
  • Help center & Use case Redirection: enables intuitive, human-like interactions to guide users across journeys and simplify feature access.

By combining conversational AI with essential banking services, ello reduces wait times, empowers customers with greater control, and ensures secure, round-the-clock support.

Farhan Hassan, Chief Digital Officer, easypaisa digital bank, said, “At easypaisa, our mission is to make digital financial services simple, accessible, and inclusive for every Pakistani. The launch of ello helps us deploy AI within our operations to deliver instant support, streamlining everyday digital banking, and enhancing the overall customer experience at scale.”

The ello chatbot was built and launched for easypaisa’s users via the Ant International GenAI Cockpit, an AI-as-a-Service platform for fintechs that helps businesses build generative AI-driven agentic applications, backed by Ant International’s deep domain excellence in financial services.

Jiang-Ming Yang, Chief Innovation Officer, Ant International, commented, “Empowering businesses of all sizes to undertake AI transformation, accessing our deep industry know-how and advanced AI capabilities through our AI-as-a-Service platform, is a core pillar of Ant International’s AI strategy. The launch of ello marks a critical first step as we support easypaisa’s journey to enhance their business operations with AI, and we look forward to supporting our partners in delivering more innovative, inclusive financial services to users everywhere.”

With millions relying on easypaisa for their daily financial needs, the introduction of ello reinforces the bank’s position at the forefront of digital innovation, setting new benchmarks for customer engagement and service excellence in Pakistan’s financial ecosystem. Moving forward, ello will also serve as a financial assistant enabling easypaisa users with AI powered customer service support as and when required.

With a customer base representing one in every five Pakistanis, a 31% female user base, and over 4.5 billion transactions processed in 2025, valued at more than PKR 15 trillion, approximately 13% of Pakistan’s GDP, easypaisa digital bank continues to set new benchmarks in digital banking and financial empowerment across Pakistan.





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Apple iOS 26.3 New iPhone Software: Should You Upgrade?

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The latest iPhone update is out. So, should you get it or not?



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