Atta-ur-Rahman, NI, HI, SI, TI
The world is entering a new economic era that may prove as transformative as the Industrial Revolution, the invention of electricity, or the rise of the internet. This new phase is increasingly being described as the “Agentic Economy”—an economy powered not merely by software or automation, but by intelligent autonomous AI agents capable of reasoning, planning, learning, communicating, negotiating, designing, manufacturing, optimizing, and making decisions with minimal human supervision. Agentic AI systems can autonomously execute complex workflows, coordinate with other systems, and continuously improve through interaction with data and environments.
China has already recognized that this transformation represents not only a seismic technological shift but also a geopolitical and economic revolution. In 2025, China formally launched its “AI Plus” national strategy aimed at integrating AI deeply into industry, governance, science, healthcare, education, logistics, manufacturing, and services. Chinese policy documents envision AI penetration exceeding 90% across major sectors by 2030, with AI agents embedded into almost every aspect of economic life.
Pakistan faces a stark choice. Either it rapidly embraces the agentic economy and integrates AI across nearly all industries during the next decade, or it risks severe economic marginalization in a world where productivity, innovation, exports, and competitiveness are increasingly determined by intelligent automation. The challenge is immense, but so is the opportunity.
The agentic economy differs fundamentally from earlier waves of digitization. During the internet era, companies digitized information. During Industry 4.0, factories adopted sensors, robotics, and data analytics. The agentic economy goes much further. Here, AI systems themselves become active economic participants. AI agents can negotiate contracts, manage inventories, optimize production chains, detect fraud, diagnose diseases, design molecules, automate coding, manage customer service, perform predictive maintenance, coordinate logistics, conduct legal research, generate educational content, and even collaborate with human teams in real time.
In manufacturing, AI agents can autonomously optimize factory production lines and coordinate supply chains. In agriculture, they can predict irrigation needs, fertilizer application, crop diseases, and market demand. In finance, AI agents can automate compliance, detect suspicious transactions, assess creditworthiness, and provide personalized financial planning. In healthcare, intelligent systems can assist in diagnostics, drug discovery, hospital management, and telemedicine. In education, AI tutors can personalize learning for millions of students simultaneously.
The first requirement is the establishment of a National AI Transformation Mission directly under the Prime Minister’s Office, integrating government, universities, industry, military technology institutions, venture capital, and international partners. Fragmented policies and isolated pilot projects will not suffice. Pakistan requires a coordinated national industrial transformation program comparable in scale to the Higher Education reforms initiated in the early 2000s. Second, Pakistan must dramatically expand its digital and computational infrastructure. AI systems require massive computing power, high-speed internet, cloud platforms, data centers, and reliable electricity. Without these foundations, large-scale AI deployment will remain impossible. Pakistan should establish national AI cloud infrastructure zones in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Peshawar, supported by preferential electricity tariffs and public-private partnerships.
Third, Pakistan’s educational system must undergo radical reform. Presently, most universities continue to emphasize memorization-based learning rather than problem-solving, innovation, and interdisciplinary technological competence. AI literacy must become mandatory from school level onward. Universities should integrate AI into engineering, medicine, business, agriculture, law, chemistry, manufacturing, logistics, and social sciences.
More importantly, Pakistan must produce not only AI users but also AI creators. Thousands of advanced researchers are needed in machine learning, robotics, semiconductor design, cybersecurity, computational biology, quantum computing, edge AI, and industrial automation. Pakistan must also establish specialized AI universities and AI innovation parks linked directly with industry. The Pak-Austria Fachhochschule model in Haripur Hazara provides an excellent conceptual foundation because it integrates education, industrial collaboration, and technology commercialization. Such models should be replicated nationally with strong AI components.
Fourth, Pakistan’s industrial sector must rapidly modernize. Many Pakistani industries still operate with outdated machinery, poor data systems, low automation, and weak productivity. AI integration cannot occur in technologically primitive industrial environments. Textile factories, pharmaceutical plants, agricultural systems, logistics companies, ports, mining operations, and manufacturing sectors must adopt digital sensors, industrial internet systems, robotics, and intelligent process management.
Agriculture is another sector where AI could revolutionize productivity. AI-powered precision agriculture could optimize irrigation, detect crop diseases early, improve seed selection, predict weather patterns, and connect farmers directly with markets. Drone-based monitoring and autonomous agricultural systems are already being widely explored in China and elsewhere. The financial sector too must also transition rapidly toward AI-driven systems. Intelligent financial agents can improve tax collection, reduce fraud, enhance banking inclusion, automate compliance, and support digital commerce.
However, Pakistan cannot succeed merely by importing foreign AI tools. It must also build indigenous capabilities. Without substantial investment in scientific infrastructure and innovation ecosystems, Pakistan will remain dependent on external technologies and vulnerable to digital colonialism.
An essential component of Pakistan’s strategy should involve deep collaboration with China. One of the most important strategic proposals in this regard was presented by me during my discussions with H.E. Mr. Wang Zhigang, the Chinese Minister for Science and Technology in 2019, when a major Chinese Research Centre was named in my honour at the Hunan University of Traditional Chinese medicine in Changsha. The proposal centred on the establishment of a unique collaborative framework termed the “QUAD” model. Under this model, four entities would work together in close strategic partnership for the development, manufacture, and export of specific high-technology products: a) a Chinese university, b) a Pakistani university c) a Chinese industrial partner d) a Pakistani industrial partner. These four partners would jointly collaborate on product-oriented innovation ecosystems focused on the development and export of a single technologically advanced high value-added industrial product (or a related group of products) goods for export to global markets. This concept represents far more than a conventional academic collaboration or industrial partnership. It is a blueprint for transforming Pakistan into a technologically sophisticated knowledge economy. The Chinese government agreed to such an exciting initiative of mutual interest and nominated its focal point to our Ministry of Science and Technology, but our government has yet to respond, though 7 years have passed.
Under this model the QUAD system would integrate research, development, manufacturing, commercialization, and export generation into a single coordinated ecosystem. Each QUAD would focus sharply on one or more high-value products with clear glob-al market demand. For example, one QUAD could focus on advanced lithium battery technologies. Another could specialize in AI-driven medical diagnostics. A third could focus on precision agricultural robotics. Others could work on semiconductor packaging, advanced pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, renewable energy systems, aerospace components, industrial automation systems, nanotechnology products, or quantum communication devices. In each case, Chinese universities would contribute advanced technological expertise and research capabilities. Pakistani universities would provide local scientific talent and adapt technologies to regional requirements. Chinese industrial partners would contribute manufacturing experience, industrial scaling capabilities, supply chain integration, and access to global markets. Pakistani industrial partners would participate in local manufacturing, workforce development, localization, and export generation. The implications of such a system for Pakistan are revolutionary.
The QUAD framework offers Pakistan a realistic and highly strategic mechanism for accelerated technological advancement be-cause it avoids one of the major weaknesses of many developing countries: attempting to build entire advanced industrial ecosystems independently from scratch. Through close collaboration with Chinese universities and industries, Pakistan can significantly shorten technological learning curves and accelerate industrial modernization.
— The author is former Federal Minister of Science & Technology, former Federal Minister of Education, UNESCO Science Laureate and founding Chairman Higher Education Commission. He is Professor Emeritus at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological sciences, University of Karachi. ([email protected])
