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At the “Girls in ICT for Inclusive Digital Transformation” event, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Khawaja, highlighted the pivotal role of the Universal Service Fund – Pakistan (USF) in Pakistan’s IT sector growth and women’s empowerment. Organized by the USF in celebration of International Women’s Day 2025, the event underscored the importance of gender inclusion in technological advancement.
Khawaja emphasized that connecting remote areas to the digital world has enabled women, startups, freelancers, and social media influencers to access new opportunities, fostering economic growth and innovation. She credited initiatives like the distribution of 1.2 million laptops by Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif and the DG Skills program, which provided online freelance training to 4.5 million individuals, as instrumental in this transformation.
Highlighting the National Broadband Initiative, Khawaja noted that the USF had installed 4,400 mobile towers across all provinces through 161 projects and laid 17,200 kilometers of optical fiber cable, connecting over 1,000 towns and union councils. These efforts have granted more than 37 million people in remote areas access to digital services.
USF CEO Chaudhry Mudassar Naveed expressed pride in organizing the ICT Day 2025 ceremony, aligning with the International Telecommunication Union’s global observance since 2011.
