SMART VILLAGE PAKISTAN

MOITT · ITU · HUAWEI · DIGITAL NATION PAKISTAN

Pakistan Smart Village Initiative

Pakistan became the first country in Asia-Pacific to implement the ITU Smart Villages concept. Today, Gokina, Roras and Karnal Sher Killi are living proof that connectivity, tele-health, digital education and smart farming can change village life for good, with national scale-up announced as the next phase.

🌟 See the Villages Live 🤝 Partner With Us
$4.6BIT EXPORTS FY25
164MBROADBAND SUBSCRIBERS
5.8MDIGISKILLS TRAINED
$507M5G AUCTION 2026
Gokina operational and self-sustaining since 2023 Roras, Sambrial Punjab's first smart village, training cycle completed Karnal Sher Killi, Swabi launched 16 April 2025, now operating IT exports USD 4.6B in FY25, up 18% Freelancer exports USD 2.3M, up 51% 164M broadband subscribers, 63% penetration 70% of households have internet access DigiSkills 5.8M trainings in FY26 so far USF serves 39.4M rural people across 4,400+ sites 5G auction raised USD 507M for 480 MHz
MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP

A Promise to Rural Pakistan

Official portrait of H.E. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication
H.E. Shaza Fatima KhawajaFEDERAL MINISTER FOR IT & TELECOMMUNICATIONOFFICIAL PORTRAIT · MINISTRY OF IT & TELECOM
“
Pakistan's 130 million rural citizens are not behind, they are the next frontier. Smart Village Pakistan is our promise that no community, no matter how remote, will be left out of the digital revolution. From the mountains of the Margallas to the plains of Punjab and the valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we are building connected, empowered and sustainable villages that will serve as a model for the entire developing world.
”

The Digital Nation Pakistan Act, in force since 29 January 2025, has laid the legislative foundation for comprehensive digital transformation through the National Digital Commission and the Pakistan Digital Authority. Smart Village Pakistan extends this vision to the grassroots, ensuring that the gains of broadband, 5G, digital skills training and e-health reach every household. This is not just an infrastructure project, it is a commitment to dignity, equity and opportunity for every Pakistani.

63%BROADBAND PENETRATION
70%HOUSEHOLD INTERNET
800K+WOMEN TRAINED
480 MHz5G SPECTRUM SOLD
SMART VILLAGES, LIVE STATUS

Three Villages, Connected and Thriving

The operational ITU Smart Village pilots of Pakistan. Each village pairs connectivity with real services in health, education, skills and agriculture, delivered with implementation partners on the ground.

OPERATIONAL · SELF-SUSTAINING Real view of Gokina village on the Margalla Hills mountainside, seen from the Talhar viewpoint
Gokina · Margalla Hills, Islamabad Capital Territory

Smart Village Gokina

PILOT 01 · FIRST ITU SMART VILLAGE IN ASIA-PACIFIC · LAUNCHED 22 FEB 2023

5,000+TELE-CONSULTATIONS
1,000HOMES CONNECTED
100%CHEM & BIO PASS RATE
90.8%TOP BIOLOGY SCORE
MoITT · USFITUHuawei TECH4ALL
  • Board 2025-26: 100% pass in Chemistry & Biology, Biology avg 74.62% (+28.47 pp)
  • Sehat Kahani one-stop telemedicine clinic
  • TeleTaleem smart classroom + AI & Digital Creators Bootcamp (94 students, June 2026)
  • Broadband to 1,000 homes, NADRA mobile services pilot
OPERATING · CYCLE COMPLETED Young women at computers in the Roras Digital Village Centre training lab
Roras · Sambrial, Sialkot, Punjab

Smart Village Roras

PILOT 02 · PUNJAB'S FIRST SMART VILLAGE · LAUNCHED 13 TO 14 DEC 2024

90.5%TOP BOARD SCORE
100%PHYSICS PASS RATE
488STUDENTS ENROLLED
27TEACHER TRAININGS
MoITTITUHuawei
  • Board 2025-26: Saba 1,086/1,200 (90.5%), top 3 all scored 77%+, 2 crossed 80%
  • Smart classroom and computer lab at Govt Girls High School Roras
  • TeleTaleem tele-education: daily online classes Grades 6-10 in English, Urdu, Math & Science
  • Digital medical consultancy for the community
LAUNCHED · OPERATING Official group photo on stage at the Swabi Smart Village launch ceremony in Islamabad on 16 April 2025
Karnal Sher Killi · Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Karnal Sher Killi, Swabi

PILOT 03 · NAMED FOR CAPT. KARNAL SHER KHAN SHAHEED, NH · LAUNCHED 16 APR 2025

2FOCUS GROUPS
4SERVICE TRACKS
6PARTNERS
#3ITU PILOT
MoITTITUHuawei
  • Digital literacy and online safety for rural women
  • E-commerce, online marketing and digital financial inclusion
  • Digital agriculture and advisory services for farmers
  • Tele-health and digital education through partners

Status as of Aug 2026 · Sources: ITU, MoITT, APP · These three villages are the operational ITU pilot set, national scale-up is the announced next phase.

ABOUT THE INITIATIVE

What is Smart Village Pakistan?

A flagship national initiative of the Ministry of IT & Telecom with the International Telecommunication Union and Huawei, transforming rural communities into digitally empowered, sustainable and self-reliant smart villages. Pakistan was the first country in Asia-Pacific to implement the ITU Smart Villages and Smart Islands concept, with the partnership agreement signed in December 2021 and the first village inaugurated in February 2023.

🌐

Digital Connectivity

Broadband and wireless access to every village, 1,000 Gokina homes already connected.

🏛️

Smart Governance

Digital citizen services under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act framework.

🩺

Tele-Health

Sehat Kahani telemedicine clinics, 5,000+ consultations delivered in Gokina alone.

🎓

Digital Education & Skills

TeleTaleem smart classrooms and DigiSkills training for rural youth and women.

ITU Smart Villages and Smart Islands UN SDGs 1, 3, 4, 9, 11 & 13 Public-Private Partnership Built for National Scale-Up
NATIONAL STRATEGY

A Blueprint for Rural Transformation

A whole of government and whole of society approach aligning federal ministries, provincial governments, private sector and international partners under the Digital Nation Pakistan framework.

01 · GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

National Digital Commission

The Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025 established the PM-chaired National Digital Commission with all Chief Ministers, and the Pakistan Digital Authority as implementing body for the Digital Masterplan and Pakistan Stack.

Act in force 29 Jan 2025Pakistan Digital AuthorityDigital Masterplan
02 · CONNECTIVITY INVESTMENT

USF Rural Broadband Push

The Universal Service Fund approved PKR 7.49B (Jun 2025), PKR 13.05B (Dec 2025) and PKR 1.16B (Jan 2026) in new rural connectivity projects, adding thousands of kilometres of fiber and millions of newly served residents.

Rural people served39.4M
Telecom sites4,400+
Optic fiber16,742 km
03 · PILOT TO SCALE

Three Villages, One Model

Gokina proved self-sustainability, Roras proved the school-anchored model, Karnal Sher Killi proved the women-and-farmers focus. National scale-up is the announced next phase.

Gokina, ICT2023
Roras, Punjab2024
Karnal Sher Killi, KP2025
04 · MONITORING & EVALUATION

Data-Driven Delivery

Progress tracked through PTA broadband data, USF project reporting and partner impact metrics, with public scorecards and third-party field verification, as in the ITU BDT Director's April 2025 Gokina visit.

PTA DataUSF ReportingField Verification
05 · INTERNATIONAL ALIGNMENT

A Global Replicable Model

Aligned with the ITU Smart Villages and Smart Islands initiative and the UN SDGs, positioning Pakistan's model as a blueprint for rural digital transformation across the developing world.

ITU SVSIUN SDGsSouth-South Learning
06 · COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP

Partner-Led Sustainability

Gokina runs on a self-sustaining model: Sehat Kahani cross-subsidizes the clinic from higher-income areas and TeleTaleem operates the smart classroom pro bono, proving villages can outlive initial funding.

Cross-SubsidyPro Bono TeachingLocal Ownership
CORE FRAMEWORK

Six Pillars of a Smart Village

Each pillar represents a critical dimension of rural transformation, drawn from what is already working in the three pilot villages. Together they form a comprehensive model for sustainable, inclusive development.

01
📡

Digital Connectivity

Last-mile broadband and wireless to every village, with community Wi-Fi zones and affordable device access, as proven by the 1,000 connected homes of Gokina.

164MBROADBAND SUBS
63%PENETRATION
480MHz 5G SOLD
02
🏛️

Smart Governance

Digital citizen services, e-filing and the Pakistan Stack data-exchange layers under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, with NADRA mobile services already piloted from Gokina.

2025ACT IN FORCE
2NATIONAL BODIES
1stNADRA PILOT
03
🩺

e-Health & Wellness

Sehat Kahani telemedicine clinics connecting villages to qualified doctors, with documented life-saving cases and consultations costing under one US dollar.

5,000+CONSULTATIONS
~70%RESOLVED ON SITE
$0.33PER CONSULT
04
🎓

e-Education & Skills

TeleTaleem smart classrooms and DigiSkills training bringing science teachers, certified courses and freelancing income to village schools, with verified board results: 100% pass rates and 90.5% top scores.

5.8MTRAINED SINCE 2018
100%CHEM & BIO PASS
90.5%TOP BOARD SCORE
05
🌾

Smart Agriculture

Digital agriculture advisory, e-commerce market access and agri-skills training, the core focus of the Karnal Sher Killi pilot for the farming communities of Swabi.

2FOCUS GROUPS
4SERVICE TRACKS
2025KP LAUNCH
06
☀️

Sustainable Operations

Self-sustaining service models where partners cross-subsidize clinics and run classrooms pro bono, so village services outlive initial donor funding.

2SUSTAINED SERVICES
2024SELF-FUNDED SINCE
100%UPTIME MODEL
FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS

Initiatives Driving Change

Concrete programs delivering measurable impact across Pakistan's rural landscape, anchored by the national DigiSkills platform that has trained more than 4 million people since 2018.

01 · CONNECTIVITY

Village Connect Program

Broadband and fiber to rural villages through the Universal Service Fund, with community Wi-Fi hotspots and affordable access. USF has now served 39.4 million rural Pakistanis through 4,400+ telecom sites and 16,742 km of optic fiber, with fresh project approvals continuing through 2025 and 2026.

No village left offline is a village left behind.
39.4MRURAL PEOPLE SERVED
4,400+TELECOM SITES
16,742KM OF FIBER
1,000GOKINA HOMES
02 · SKILLS & EMPLOYMENT

DigiSkills Gaon, Rural Freelancing

The national DigiSkills platform brings certified online training to rural youth and women. It delivered 5.8 million trainings between July 2025 and March 2026 alone, has trained over 5.8 million people across 300 cities since 2018, including 800,000+ women and 61,754 overseas Pakistanis. DigiSkills 3.0, approved in March 2025 with PKR 1.79 billion, now offers 25 courses including AI, freelancing and digital marketing.

Productive employment for every rural graduate, without forcing migration to cities.
5.8MTRAINED SINCE 2018
5.8MTRAININGS FY26
800K+WOMEN TRAINED
PKR 1.79BDIGISKILLS 3.0
03 · HEALTHCARE

Sehat Ghar, Tele-Health Network

Tele-health clinics connecting villages to qualified doctors via Sehat Kahani. In Gokina, the one-stop clinic has delivered 5,000+ consultations since 2023 at around USD 0.33 each, resolving about 70% of patients on site, including documented life-saving cases, and is now cross-subsidized to run sustainably.

Every mother deserves the same specialist care as a family in Islamabad.
5,000+CONSULTATIONS
~70%RESOLVED ON SITE
$0.33PER CONSULT
2024SELF-SUSTAINING SINCE
04 · AGRICULTURE

Kissan Digital, Smart Farming

Digital agriculture advisory, e-commerce market access and digital financial inclusion for farming communities. At Karnal Sher Killi, Swabi, farmers and rural women are being trained in digital literacy, online marketing, fintech and digital agriculture as the model for national scale-up.

Smart farming transforms subsistence farmers into agri-entrepreneurs.
4TRAINING TRACKS
2FOCUS GROUPS
2025SWABI LAUNCH
KPPROVINCE
AI-generated visualization of a Punjab farming village with solar rooftops and an agricultural drone overhead AI visualization of a smart farming village in Punjab
NATIONAL DIGITAL PULSE 2026

Pakistan's Digital Economy, By the Numbers

The verified national picture behind the smart village movement, drawn from PTA, State Bank, APP and MoITT reporting through mid-2026. Watch the counters and bars come alive as you scroll.

📈
$0BIT & ITeS Exports FY25Record high, up 18% year on year, 45% of all services exports. Target: USD 5B in FY26, USD 10B by FY29.
vs USD 5B FY26 target76%
💸
$0BICT Exports Jul to Mar FY26Up 19.7% year on year (USD 2.83B in the same period last year), per APP reporting of June 2026.
YoY growth+19.7%
👩‍💻
$0MFreelancer Exports FY26Up 51% year on year, powered by DigiSkills-trained rural and urban freelancers earning globally.
YoY growth+51%
📡
0M+Broadband Subscribers63% penetration and 82% teledensity (PTA, Mar 2026), up from 53.6% and 127.6M in FY23.
Penetration63%
🏠
0%Household Internet AccessFirst digital HIES, Jan 2026. Individual internet usage stands at 57%, 117M users nationwide.
Households online70%
🎓
MDigiSkills Trainings FY26Jul 2025 to Mar 2026. Over 4M people trained since 2018, including 800K+ women, 25 courses in DigiSkills 3.0.
Women's share of trainees30%
🗼
0MRural People Served by USF161+ projects, 4,400+ telecom sites, 16,742 km of optic fiber and 21,000+ mauzas covered.
2025-26 approvalsPKR 21.7B
📶
$0M5G Spectrum Auction, Mar 2026480 MHz sold (Jazz 190, Ufone 180, Zong 110). 5G launches planned 2026 in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
Spectrum sold480 MHz
PILOT IMPACT, BEFORE AND AFTER

Gokina's Transformation, Measured

Before 2023, Gokina was a mountainside village of the Margalla Hills with no local doctor, no science teachers at the girls' school and patchy connectivity. Here is what the first ITU Smart Village changed, per ITU field reporting through April 2025.

📡

Connectivity, Before vs After

PatchySIGNAL BEFORE
➜
1,000HOMES CONNECTED
0DIGITAL SERVICES
➜
4SERVICES LIVE
🩺

Healthcare Access

5,000+
telemedicine consultations since 2023, about 70% resolved on site with medication, the rest referred onward.

~$0.33 Per consultLife-saving Documented cases
🎓

Girls' Education

100%
Chemistry & Biology board pass rate 2025-26, Biology avg 74.62% (+28.47 pp), 94 students in AI Bootcamp.

90.8% Top Bio score94 Bootcamp students
👩

Women's Empowerment

250+
women trained in digital skills and entrepreneurship, from fashion and stitching to handicrafts and home business.

Marketing & finance accessYouth Agri & chef skills
🏛️

Citizen Services

1st
NADRA Motorcycle Services pilot launched from Gokina, bringing identity services to residents' doorsteps.

NADRA Mobile pilotDoorstep ID services
♻️

Sustainability

100%
self-sustaining since 2024: Sehat Kahani cross-subsidizes the clinic, TeleTaleem teaches pro bono.

Cross-subsidy Clinic modelITU "Blossomed" verdict
MEASURABLE IMPACT

National Impact Dashboard

Programme-scale targets and verified national progress tracking across Pakistan's rural digital transformation.

🏘️
0ITU SMART VILLAGES LIVE
📡
0M+BROADBAND SUBSCRIBERS
🎓
0MDIGISKILLS TRAINED
🏥
0+GOKINA TELE-CONSULTS
🗼
0+USF TELECOM SITES
💼
0M$FREELANCER EXPORTS

Smart Village Progress Index

📡 Digital Connectivity63%
🏛️ Digital Governance (Act + PDA)70%
🩺 e-Health Reach55%
🎓 Digital Skills Access72%
🌾 Smart Agriculture Adoption45%
🏠 Household Internet Access70%
📈
IT Exports $4.6B

Record FY25 exports, up 18%, with rural talent competing globally.

👩‍💻
Women Empowerment

800K+ women trained on DigiSkills, 250+ women skilled in Gokina alone.

🌏
First in Asia-Pacific

Pakistan led the region in implementing the ITU Smart Villages concept.

📶
5G Ready

USD 507M raised for 480 MHz in the March 2026 spectrum auction.

ROADMAP

Journey to a Smarter Pakistan

The verified milestones of the Smart Village Pakistan initiative, from first partnership to the announced national scale-up.

JUN 2021 · DONE

National Programme Launch

Pakistan launches its Smart Village programme with ITU, planning one smart village each for ICT, the four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan.

6 Regions PlannedITU Partner
DEC 2021 · DONE

Partnership Agreement

MoITT, USF, ITU and Huawei sign the partnership agreement on 10 December 2021, bringing the Smart Villages and Smart Islands concept to Pakistan, a first in Asia-Pacific.

4 Partners1st In Asia-Pacific
FEB 2023 · DONE

Gokina Goes Live

Federal IT Minister Syed Aminul Haque inaugurates Smart Village Gokina on 22 February 2023, with Sehat Kahani e-health and TeleTaleem e-education services.

1,000 Homes Connected2 Core Services
DEC 2024 · DONE

Roras, Punjab's First

Minister of State Shaza Fatima Khawaja inaugurates Smart Village Roras in Sambrial, Sialkot, on 13 to 14 December 2024, anchored at Government Girls High School Roras.

115 Trainees6 Partners
APR 2025 · DONE

Karnal Sher Killi, Swabi

The third Smart Village launches on 16 April 2025 in Swabi district, KP, dedicated to Capt. Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (NH), focused on women and farmers.

4 Service Tracks#3 ITU Pilot
2026 · LIVE

Three Villages Operating

Gokina is self-sustaining, Roras completed its training cycle, Karnal Sher Killi is operating. National scale-up is the announced next phase.

3 Villages Live1 Self-Sustaining
NEXT · GOAL

National Scale-Up

Replicating the proven model across provinces under the Digital Nation Pakistan framework, with 5G, the Pakistan Stack and DigiSkills 3.0 as accelerators.

All Provinces2030 Horizon
VOICES

Stories That Inspire

Voices from village communities and from the leaders championing Pakistan's digital transformation.

🏘️ From the Villages

Our girls' school had no science teacher for years. Now my daughter attends science and math classes every day on the big screen, taught by a teacher hundreds of kilometres away. She wants to become a doctor.

👩
Gokina ParentMother of a grade 9 student, Gokina, ICT

A toddler with measles and a man in a hypertensive crisis were both saved through the clinic. We walk in, the coordinator connects us to a doctor on video, and we leave with the right medicine. It costs less than a bus ticket.

🧕
Sehat Kahani Clinic PatientGokina tele-health clinic, ICT

I completed the digital skills course at the centre in our girls' school, from basic computer use to e-commerce. For the first time, women of our village are earning from their own work.

👩‍💼
Roras TraineeDigital Village Centre, Sambrial, Sialkot

Farming is our life in Swabi. Learning digital agriculture and how to sell online means our crops can reach buyers far beyond the local mandi. This village now carries the name of our hero, and we carry his pride forward.

👨‍🌾
Karnal Sher Killi FarmerSmart Village participant, Swabi, KP

After the DigiSkills training I started freelancing from home. The course was free, the certificate is recognized, and my first international client paid more than a month of local wages.

👩‍💻
DigiSkills GraduateOne of 800,000+ women trained since 2018

When the ITU Director visited, he said our village had blossomed beyond what the initial funding built. He was right. The clinic and the classroom now run on their own, and they belong to us.

👴
Gokina Community ElderMargalla Hills, ICT

🌍 Leaders & Dignitaries

Gokina has blossomed beyond the initial ITU funding. This is what happens when technology is deployed with purpose: it transforms the lives of the most underserved communities, and then it sustains itself.

🌐
Dr. Cosmas Luckyson ZavazavaDirector, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

Through TECH4ALL, Huawei is proud to partner with Pakistan on the Smart Village project. The integration of broadband, digital education and tele-health in remote villages showcases the true potential of technology for social good.

📡
Ahmed Bilal MasoodDeputy CEO, Huawei Pakistan

Smart villages are central to our Digital Pakistan vision. We are taking connectivity, skills and services to the last mile, and we will replicate this model so that every province has its own smart villages.

🇵🇰
H.E. Shaza Fatima KhawajaFederal Minister for IT & Telecommunication

🎯 Target Audience

Government & Policy MakersICT & Telecom IndustryUN & Development OrgsAcademia & ResearchNGOs & Civil SocietyFuture Partners
PARTNERS & STAKEHOLDERS

Working Together for Impact

MoITTITUHUAWEIUSFPTASEHAT KAHANITELETALEEMBAIDARIEIGNITETELECOM FOUNDATIONPUNJAB EDUCATION DEPTNADRAJAZZUN PAKISTAN
🏛️

Ministry of IT & Telecom

Lead federal ministry driving Digital Nation Pakistan policy, the Digital Commission and connectivity infrastructure.

🌐

ITU

Global Smart Villages and Smart Islands framework, technical expertise and international visibility for the pilots.

📡

Huawei TECH4ALL

Technology partner delivering connectivity, equipment and digital inclusion across all three pilot villages.

🗼

Universal Service Fund

Rural broadband and fiber nationwide, 39.4M people served across 4,400+ sites and 16,742 km of optic fiber.

🩺

Sehat Kahani & TeleTaleem

Implementation partners running the tele-health clinics and smart classrooms that anchor village services.

🤝

Baidarie & Local Partners

Community engagement and smart village centre management, with provincial education departments and operators.

Vision 2030, The Road Ahead

A connected, empowered and self-reliant rural Pakistan leading the developing world, with the smart village model scaled nationwide.

3VILLAGES LIVE TODAY
AllPROVINCES NEXT
$10BIT EXPORTS BY FY29
2030VISION HORIZON
GET INVOLVED

Partner With Smart Village Pakistan

Whether you are a government body, private company, NGO or international organization, there is a role for you in scaling Pakistan's smart villages from three pilots to a national movement.

📧
Email Usinfo@smartvillage.gov.pk
📞
Call Us+92-51-920-9090
📍
Visit UsMinistry of IT & Telecom,7th Floor, Kohsar Block Pak secretariat,Islamabad - Pakistan
🌐
Onlinewww.smartvillage.gov.pk

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🏘️
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