Pakistan approaching decisive inflection point in AI era: JazzWorld

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is approaching a decisive inflection point in the artificial intelligence (AI) era, where the real opportunity lies not in simply adopting global technologies, but in developing the domestic capability to create, scale, and govern them.

That was the central message from Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of JazzWorld, who cautioned that the window to move from passive consumption to active innovation is narrowing rapidly.

“AI is a multiplier, not a buzzword,” Ibrahim said.

“Pakistan’s opportunity is to move from being an AI taker to an AI maker — and that requires execution, not just rhetoric. At JazzWorld, we are embedding AI into everyday decision-making, productivity, and customer experience, backed by pragmatic business cases, strong governance, and relevant upskilling.”

Ibrahim shared these views during the panel discussion “Expert-led Strategic Dialogue: Designing AI-Native Government” at Indus AI Week, where industry leaders and policymakers explored how AI is reshaping governance and economic competitiveness.

Fellow panelists included Dr Ali Al-Azzawi, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia; Dr Sanjiva Weerawarana, Founder of WSO2; Siim Sikkut, Managing Partner at Digital Nation; Ahsan Mashkoor, Chairman and Co-Founder of wAI Industries; and Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO of PTCL &Ufone 4G. The discussion reflected a growing consensus that AI is no longer an emerging technology, but a structural layer of the modern economy.

The panelists discussed how globally, AI is increasingly viewed as an amplifier of existing institutional and economic strengths rather than a replacement for them. This has created a new divide — not between digital and non-digital economies — but between AI takers, AI makers, and AI shapers. While importing AI solutions may offer short-term efficiencies, long-term competitiveness rests with those able to design, adapt, and govern their own systems.

In another key panel discussion titled “Building Competitive AI Ecosystems Without Losing Sovereignty,” Aamer Ejaz, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at JazzWorld, emphasized that sovereignty in an interconnected AI economy depends on design choices rather than isolation.

“In a globally connected AI ecosystem, sovereignty is about strategic choices, not isolation,” Ejaz said.

“AI must be driven by real use cases, real customers, and real value.”

He joined Saqr Ereiqat, Director General of D2A2; Abdullah Al-Dhaheri, Chief Executive Officer of The Blockchain Centre; José MaríaLucía Moreno, Partner at EY Spain; and Xin Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Sign in discussing how governance frameworks must evolve alongside infrastructure.

Ejaz noted that JazzWorld’s AI strategy focuses on building commercially viable systems that remain open to global innovation while protecting local context, language, and data integrity. While infrastructure such as data centers enables scale, he added, trust ultimately depends on governance, encryption standards, and responsible access.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026