QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Saturday stressed the importance of leveraging modern technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), to enhance transparency, efficiency and performance in governance, financial management and youth development initiatives.

Chairing a high-level consultative meeting of the Information Technology Department in Quetta, CM Bugti endorsed a series of proposals aimed at integrating advanced digital tools into provincial systems.

Key among them was the use of AI to assess students’ cognitive abilities under the Balochistan Education Endowment Fund (BEEF) scholarship programme.

Experts briefed the participants on the potential of AI to generate personalised profiles for students based on their unique skills and aptitudes, which could enable more targeted resource allocation and development planning.

The meeting also discussed the deployment of AI-powered systems to monitor the performance of government departments. Officials said such tools could help reduce resource wastage and ensure a more efficient and responsive bureaucracy.

Chief Minister Bugti directed Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan and Secretary Finance Imran Zarkoon to devise a realistic and actionable plan for embedding AI solutions in the governance framework.

He stressed that information technology must be central to improving service delivery and institutional accountability.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2025