Quantum Pakistan

When I launched Vision 2010 over two decades ago, I planned to draft a plan and ignite a national imagination around science, technology and innovation.

At that time, this seemed an audacious goal for a developing nation grappling with pressing challenges. Yet I firmly believed, and continue to believe, that the future belongs to those who invest in ideas before they become inevitable. This conviction has now taken concrete shape in the form of Quantum Valley Pakistan, our most ambitious effort to date to establish a world-class innovation ecosystem at the heart of our national development agenda.

Quantum Valley Pakistan is not just another technology park or infrastructure project. It represents a profound declaration that Pakistan is ready to claim its rightful place in the global knowledge economy on its own terms. This initiative embodies years of policy evolution — some efforts successful, others offering valuable lessons.

From the early days of allocating 10,000 PhD scholarships to cultivate a critical mass of scientists, technologists, and researchers, to the establishment of National Centres dedicated to artificial intelligence, robotics, Big Data and cybersecurity, we have pursued patient institution-building. However, it is time to consolidate and connect these pieces into a cohesive, integrated ecosystem.

Quantum Valley will serve as a focused national project, bringing together Pakistan’s dispersed innovation potential under one umbrella. It will host cutting-edge science parks specialising in frontier technologies such as agri-tech, biotechnology, advanced materials and minerals — sectors in which Pakistan holds significant untapped promise. More importantly, it will be a hub where academia, industry, government and defence institutions collaborate to translate research into market-ready solutions, moving ideas from laboratories to production lines and from prototypes to viable products.

Quantum computing holds transformative potential for Pakistan, offering breakthroughs in areas ranging from cryptography and national security to drug discovery, materials science and climate modeling.

Establishing a ‘Quantum Valley’ in Pakistan — modelled on the success of innovation hubs like Silicon Valley — will catalyse a national ecosystem for cutting-edge research, skilled workforce development, and global collaboration in quantum technologies. This initiative will position Pakistan at the frontier of the next technological revolution, fostering indigenous innovation, attracting international investment, and enhancing the country’s strategic capabilities in science and technology. It is vital to building a knowledge-based economy and ensuring long-term national competitiveness.

Quantum Valley will also create high-tech jobs, boost STEM education, and pave the way for sustainable development, making it a crucial step toward Pakistan’s technological and economic future.

During my recent visit to the University of Cambridge, I had the privilege of engaging with thought leaders at the St John’s Innovation Centre, one of the world’s foremost models for technology-led enterprise development. We discussed localising that model within the Pakistani context, a context distinct but no less ambitious. This collaboration has yielded a strategic framework targeting Technology Readiness Levels 3 to 6, the crucial mid-stage where many innovations in developing countries stall due to insufficient support, scale, or infrastructure.

We are determined to overcome these obstacles. Quantum Valley Pakistan will be a whole-of-government endeavour, involving the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Defence and the National Technology Fund (Ignite). This unprecedented level of inter-ministerial coordination reflects the complexity of the task ahead and the urgency with which we must act. Global technological advancements wait for no country. If Pakistan is not among the creators, we risk being perpetual consumers. Such a position is untenable in an era where knowledge equates to power.

A key aspect of this initiative is promoting civil-military research and development fusion. While this approach does not directly replicate any single country’s model, it is a pragmatic response to Pakistan’s unique circumstances. Some of the most transformative technologies worldwide — such as GPS, the internet and drone systems — have emerged from dual-use ecosystems where public and private sectors collaborate. Such synergies are vital, not only to address our national security imperatives but also to drive broader economic innovation and industrial development.

This vision also stems from a fundamental recognition: Pakistan’s youthful population constitutes its most significant comparative advantage, but only if equipped with the right tools to compete globally. Innovation cannot flourish in isolation; it demands a culture of curiosity, mentorship, access to seed capital and robust institutional support. Through Quantum Valley, we aspire to provide our students, researchers, and entrepreneurs with an environment that nurtures their ambitions and empowers them to deliver transformative solutions.

Over the years, Pakistani talent has made impressive strides globally — from the Silicon Valley to biotech laboratories across Europe and North America. Our diaspora remains one of our most valuable yet underutilised resources. Quantum Valley will act as a bridge to reconnect this talent, whether through mentoring startups, co-developing cutting-edge technologies, or encouraging repatriation to build enterprises at home. This is how ecosystems grow: by expanding infrastructure and imagination simultaneously.

The challenges ahead are real and require sustained investment, policy consistency, and unwavering public support. We must reform outdated educational curricula, streamline research governance, incentivise technology transfer and cultivate a genuine culture of innovation that transcends rhetoric. Yet, we do not face this journey starting from scratch. We are building upon decades of incremental progress, translating those efforts into a well-integrated system capable of delivering innovation at scale.

What inspires me most is that this initiative emerges not from a reaction to crisis but from a proactive vision. Pakistan is no longer merely responding to global change but preparing to help shape it. With Quantum Valley Pakistan, we are making a deliberate bet on science, on the creativity of our youth, and on the timeless principle that the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Ultimately, the true measure of our success will not be the number of buildings constructed or patents granted, but the depth with which innovation permeates the fabric of our society. If we succeed in embedding innovation as a national ethos, Quantum Valley will not only become a centre for technology but a wellspring of confidence, capability and a renewed sense of national pride.

The writer is the federal minister for planning, development, and special initiatives. He tweets/posts @betterpakistan