ISLAMABAD – Big boost for Pakistan in global race for AI and digital innovation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir jointly inaugurated Sky47 Karakorum-01, the country’s largest carrier-neutral, AI-ready data centre.
Calling these project landmark in Pakistan’s digital journey, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the state-of-the-art facility would become the backbone of the country’s technological transformation, paving the way for advanced artificial intelligence, cloud computing, secure data hosting and next-generation digital services.
وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف اور فیلڈ مارشل سید عاصم منیر نے ڈیٹا سنٹر سکائی 47 قراقرم ون کا افتتاح کر دیا#PMShehbazSharif #CDFAsimMunir #DataCenter #Sky47 #Karakoram1 #Innovation pic.twitter.com/chh0qgIZfd
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) July 24, 2026
Addressing the inauguration ceremony in Islamabad, PM said the successful completion of the ambitious project reflects Pakistan’s growing capability to execute world-class technology initiatives. He praised Field Marshal Asim Munir for his leadership and acknowledged the efforts of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Chinese technology giant ZTE and other stakeholders who helped turn the vision into reality.
“The future belongs to nations that invest in technology,” the prime minister said, expressing confidence that Pakistan is moving decisively towards becoming a modern, digitally empowered economy.
He urged federal and provincial institutions to integrate with the newly established facility, saying the data centre has the potential to transform governance, strengthen cybersecurity, improve digital public services and reduce dependence on foreign digital infrastructure. PM also announced that the government plans to replicate the project in Karachi and Lahore, creating a nationwide network of high-capacity data centres to support Pakistan’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
With an operational capacity of 8.5 megawatts, Sky47 Karakorum-01 is the largest data centre of its kind in Pakistan. Built to international standards, the AI-ready facility offers scalable, high-performance computing infrastructure capable of powering advanced artificial intelligence applications, cloud platforms and enterprise-grade digital services.
The project incorporates sovereign cloud architecture and multilayer enterprise security, ensuring that critical government, financial and corporate data remains securely stored within Pakistan’s borders. Officials say this will significantly strengthen the country’s digital sovereignty, improve cyber resilience and reduce reliance on overseas data hosting.
As governments worldwide compete to build AI infrastructure, Pakistan’s entry into the sector through Sky47 Karakorum-01 marks one of the country’s most significant investments in future-ready digital technology. Officials believe the project will not only accelerate digital transformation but also attract technology investment, create high-skilled employment and lay the foundation for Pakistan’s emergence as a regional technology hub.
It is expected to strengthen digital sovereignty, enhance cybersecurity, improve e-governance and public services, and serve as backbone infrastructure for AI, cloud computing, and the broader digital economy. Plans to replicate the project in Karachi and Lahore will create a nationwide network.
While the initiative won’t immediately turn Pakistan into a global AI leader, it lays a solid foundation by enabling local innovation, attracting tech investments, creating high-skilled jobs, and supporting economic modernisation, provided challenges like power reliability and talent development are addressed effectively.
