Pakistan to Grant Citizens Greater Control Over Personal Data Under Proposed National Data Governance Policy 2026
Islamabad: Pakistan is set to introduce sweeping reforms in public-sector data management under the proposed National Data Governance Policy 2026, which aims to give citizens greater control over their personal information while establishing a centralized data regulatory framework.
According to reports, the Ministry of Information Technology’s affiliated institution has decided to establish a Central Data Regulator Authority to oversee the implementation of the new policy.
Under the proposed framework, Pakistani citizens will gain the legal right to determine what personal data the government holds about them, who has accessed it, when it was accessed, and for what purpose.
The policy will also allow individuals to:
Request access to their personal data held by government institutions.
Verify and correct inaccurate or outdated information.
Request the deletion of their personal data from official records in specific circumstances.
Obtain their personal data in a machine-readable format.
The proposed policy will apply uniformly to all federal ministries, government departments, autonomous bodies, public-sector organizations, and private contractors handling government data.
Under the framework, the Pakistan Digital Authority will oversee the National Open Data Portal, the National Data Exchange Platform, and maintain the National Data Catalog.
The policy also makes it mandatory for every federal institution to appoint a Chief Data Officer (CDO), who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the policy, overseeing the lawful use of data, and submitting regular reports on data governance.
To strengthen oversight, a National Data Governance Council will be established under the leadership of the Pakistan Digital Authority. The council will include representatives from federal and provincial governments, regulatory bodies, and other relevant stakeholders.
The authority will publish annual data governance performance reports for government institutions and introduce a National Data Maturity Index to assess and rank their performance.
In addition, the Pakistan Digital Authority will be empowered to conduct regular audits of government institutions, recommend corrective measures, and take legal action against public organizations and officials found to be repeatedly violating data governance laws or failing to comply with the policy.
