ISLAMABAD: Work is underway on Pakistan’s first-ever indigenous Large Language Model (LLM), a collaborative initiative led by digital operator Jazz in partnership with the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the National Information Technology Board (NITB).
The locally developed LLM aims to bridge the critical gap in AI-ready data for local languages.
The country’s largest digital operator, Jazz, has been spearheading the development of the indigenous LLM in collaboration with NUST and NITB.
This pioneering project, which is a private-sector- led effort, aims to address one of Pakistan’s biggest gaps in the AI space—the absence of AI-ready data in local languages.
The initiative is currently in the foundational phase of data collection, processing, and pre-training, and as it moves into the next stages—fine-tuning, alignment, evaluation, and deployment— a diverse range of stakeholders across industries, academia, and research are expected to contribute toward this pioneering project, Jazz stated in a statement.
The partnership between Jazz and NUST for the LLM initiative is a result of their collaboration on multiple projects, where Jazz brings the scale, technical expertise, and industry experience to lead an initiative of this magnitude, while NUST’s research excellence and academic depth make them a suitable strategic partner.
“With NITB’s policy alignment role and oversight from a Joint Strategic Steering Committee, Jazz has established a framework that is transparent, accountable, and nationally relevant,” the statement read.
Moreover, as a member of the Planning Ministry’s AI Task Force, Jazz has consistently invited other institutions and stakeholders to contribute to this effort, and continues to make strides in transforming this project into a vehicle that serves national AI and technology interests.
Jazz follows an ethos, which is inclusive and collaborative. In 2024, it convened an AI Coalition to engage industry and academic stakeholders, and just last week, in partnership with UNESCO, a workshop “AI for Humanity: Ethical and Inclusive AI in Pakistan,” was hosted, where voices from government, academia, civil society, and the private sector joined the dialogue conversation.
The digital operator remains committed to inclusivity, collaboration, and pluralism, and it envisions elevating this nascent program to a national platform for AI innovation, open to any and all stakeholders who can contribute meaningfully.
The company’s purpose has always been clear: to harness the power of technology to transform lives and strengthen livelihoods across Pakistan, Jazz stated in its statement.
By leading the development of the country’s first indigenous LLM, Jazz is not only delivering a technological milestone but also laying the foundation for an AI future that is locally relevant, ethically grounded, and inclusive.
This initiative reflects the belief that Pakistan’s progress depends on collaborative innovation and commitment to ensuring every stakeholder who shares this vision has a role to play in shaping it.
