Technology makes us apart. A recent UNDP assessment on Pakistan, titled Doing Digital for Development — Access, Adopt, Anticipate, Accelerate, states that districts that have embraced digital transformation and those that have fallen behind exhibit discernible variations in human development.

The research classifies Pakistan among the nations whose digital progress to date may be best described as “moderate,” emphasising the significance of fair and safe access to technology as a method of enhancing human lives. Women in the nation are still terribly underprivileged, and more than half of the population lacks access to the internet. Of the women who do have access to digital technologies, 83.5 percent claim that their parents or spouses regulate who they own a phone. In the meantime, the richest 20 percent of the population has 15 times more digital progress than the lowest quintile. In Pakistan, having access to digital media has obviously become a status symbol. This requires immediate attention. According to the UNDP’s measures of gender inequality and human development, Pakistan is already among the least developed nations. It seems that only well-thought-out digital development plans can significantly improve its now dire situation in these sectors. In this regard, it is heartening to hear that Ahsan Iqbal, the minister of planning, has stated that having access to digital resources and contemporary technologies is a basic human need, much like having power, access to healthcare, or having an education.

At the policy level, one hopes that this belief is more widespread than it currently appears to be. For Pakistan’s underprivileged populations, democratising digital development will spur a quick, if not immediate, improvement in human development metrics. All that is required is some innovative rethinking about how to include them more effectively into the larger plan for digital development, particularly with regard to internet accessibility. For instance, the government might think about providing internet subsidies to less developed areas.

Perhaps it is time for our policymakers to start placing greater emphasis on the role accelerated digital development can play in turning things around fast and sustainably, as discussions about what Pakistan has to do to recover from its economic downturn that keeps hitting the resource-constraint wall take place. Increased use of contemporary technologies will not only help eliminate distortions in intra-district human development but also boost national output. Take into consideration that in India, even roadside vendors have embraced digital payment methods since they simplify business for both consumers and sellers in a variety of ways.

There is no reason to believe that Pakistan’s common citizens won’t welcome comparable technological advancements in their daily lives, particularly if the government fully supports them through an all-encompassing digital development policy. For the time being, a concentrated effort in the proper direction is a fine place to start, but the current infrastructure may need to be improved in the future.