Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has inaugurated the two-day Indus Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Expo 2026 in Islamabad, calling for a unified national innovation ecosystem to position Pakistan at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution . Addressing the inaugural ceremony at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, the Prime Minister declared that Pakistan will not merely inherit technological choices made by others but will shape its own destiny through innovation, enterprise, and self-reliance . The landmark expo, hosted by the National Technology Fund (Ignite) under the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, brings together policymakers, defence organisations, industry leaders, researchers, and startups to strengthen Pakistan’s robotics ecosystem .
The Prime Minister highlighted Pakistan’s significant progress in indigenous defence capabilities, praising the armed forces for adopting cutting-edge technologies developed within the country . Shehbaz Sharif noted that military simulators are now 100 percent manufactured and assembled in Pakistan, while drones have achieved more than 60 percent indigenisation . He credited this progress to the dynamic leadership of Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and commended the scientists, engineers, and technocrats for their contributions . Referring to the historic Marqa-e-Haq, the Prime Minister stated that the world witnessed Pakistan’s effective use of advanced autonomous systems to safeguard its physical and cyber frontiers .
