PM Shehbaz appoints PTI govt’s digital aide Tania Aidrus to head ‘Digital Nation Pakistan Initiative’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted an interim Digital Committee for the Digital Nation Pakistan initiative, it emerged on Wednesday.
In a notification dated April 17, theÂFederal Ministry for Information Technology and Telecommunication appointed Tania S. Aidrus, aÂtech expert, hasÂbeen appointed as the convener of an interim Digital Committee. The notification hasÂbeen issued with the approval of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.Â
Furthermore, it notified that the State Minister of IT & Telecom will be Chair of the committee, and Tania S. Aidrus will act as convener. Other members include the Secretary of IT & Telecom, Dr. Sohail Munir, Salman Ahmed, Muhammad Ali Raza, and a member Co-opted by the Chair.
TheÂobjective of the committee is to provide transitional leadership and lay the groundwork for the formal establishment of the National Digital Commission (NDC) and Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), the notification reads. Regarding digital vision, the committee will make its recommendations to the government.Â
Earlier, Tania Adirus served as former Head of PM ImranÂKhan’s Digital PakistanÂInitiative, but resignedÂfrom her position on June 29, 2020, following extreme criticism from the establishment and the opposition for having dual nationality.Â
A seniorÂofficial of the ministry has said that a similar committeeÂwas formed during former premier ImranÂKhan’s tenureÂand effortsÂwere made for Digital Pakistan. Now a new committee has been formedÂand Tania has been re-appointedÂto it.
Sources told Daily Ausaf that Tania was then appointed as Special Assistant to PM Khan on the recommendation of Jahangir Tareen. However, under opposition pressure and law enforcement agencies reports, she was removed for having a foreign passport.