PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Friday launched the KP Open Wifi, a community driven digital access initiative, calling it as a major milestone in province’s digital transformation agenda, strengthening digital governance and expanding people’s ’ access to modern services.

During the inaugural ceremony at the Chief Minister’s House here, Mr Afridi announced that in the first phase of the initiative, free Wi-Fi services were being introduced at key public facilities in Peshawar, including major government hospitals and public transport hubs.

He announced that in the next phases, the initiative would be extended to all divisional headquarters, including Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Mardan, Swat, Kohat and Bannu, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office.

Mr Afridi announced that free Wi-Fi facilities would be introduced across all public universities and colleges, underscoring the KP government’s commitment to equipping young people with the digital infrastructure necessary to pursue education, research, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.

Initiative to be extended to all divisional headquarters later

He said that KP had already achieved substantial progress towards digital governance, with nearly 70 to 80 percent of government processes moving towards digitization, while efforts were underway to progressively transition public service delivery to a paperless system.

“We are committed to providing an enabling environment that supports innovation, skills development and economic participation,” he said.

The chief minister also expressed concerns over persistent issues relating to internet availability and speed across the country.

He said that slowing down or suspending internet services to restrict access to social media was a regrettable practice and maintained that, unfortunately, internet services were frequently disrupted or deliberately slowed in an effort to counter the PTI, with the greatest impact falling on young people, students, freelancers, entrepreneurs and digital businesses that rely on uninterrupted connectivity.

Mr Afridi said that while the federal government had failed to introduce effective measures to expand economic opportunities for the country’s youth, it should, at a minimum, refrain from depriving them of the ability to earn livelihoods through digital platforms.

“Reliable, affordable and unrestricted internet access is indispensable for the growth of Pakistan’s digital economy and the future of its young workforce,” he said.

The chief minister noted that cross-border trade with Afghanistan had historically been a major source of livelihood for local communities, and that prolonged border closures had significantly affected economic activity.

“Citizens in the country continue to face unemployment, inflation and broader economic challenges, making it imperative that public resources are utilised efficiently and transparently,” he said.

Mr Afridi said the government would continue implementing its reform agenda to deliver efficient, accessible and technology-enabled public services.

Earlier, officials said the cost of the initiative’s PC-I stood at Rs320 million, of which Rs90 million had already been utilised for deployment at selected public locations.

They said the implementation plan initially covered 19 public sites across Peshawar, Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan, supported by 119 access points.

The selected locations include public hospitals, parks and transport terminals.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2026