Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal launched the country's first national AI applications competition "TECHATHON 1.0" in Islamabad today.

Addressing the ceremony, the Minister said the TECHATHON 1.0 is a national call to action and a platform to challenge, inspire and mobilize young Pakistanis, students, developers, thinkers and entrepreneurs to use Artificial Intelligence to solve real problems.

He said Pakistan will not be a spectator in AI revolution; we will be driver, shapers and contributors to the global AI economy.

Ahsan Iqbal said, through this initiative, we aim to identify high-potential AI solutions for sectors like agriculture, health, education, climate, public service delivery and more.

He said TECHATHON 1.0 is part of a much larger vision "Uraan Pakistan", our national transformation blueprint for a one trillion dollar economy by 2035.