*Islamabad (July 17, 2025): *Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting on Thursday to review progress on Pakistan’s transition towards a cashless digital economy.
According to ARY News, the meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahsan Cheema, and Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar.
During the briefing, officials informed the Prime Minister that Pakistan is building a *Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)* to enable the creation of *digital IDs*. These IDs will be linked with individuals’ *national identity cards, biometric data, and mobile phone numbers*, allowing secure digital payments across the country.
It was also noted that the federal development authority has granted the *right of way for fiber connectivity*, an important step towards strengthening digital infrastructure nationwide.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over the progress and stressed that the government is giving top priority to transforming the financial system into a *cashless and transparent digital model*. He directed provincial chief secretaries to extend cooperation in taking the *Raast digital payment system* down to the district level.
The government has been working for years to introduce a cashless economy as part of efforts to promote transparency in financial transactions.
Recently, Pakistan also announced a *digital currency pilot project* in collaboration with Japanese blockchain technology firm *Soramitsu*. The State Bank of Pakistan will jointly work with the company to develop a *Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)* pilot.
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