• Govt data declared a strategic national asset held in trust for citizens • Public bodies defined as custodians, not owners of government data • Citizens to have right to know who accessed their personal data, when, and why ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has released the draft Data Governance Policy 2026 for public consultation, declaring government data a strategic national asset to be held in trust for the people and governed to ensure sovereignty, public value, citizen empowerment and lawful use. The draft policy, placed on the ministry’s website for public comments until July 10, states that while it serves as the primary national framework for data governance, it does not cover personal data held outside the public sector, primary legislation, judicial proceedings, or matters falling within specific national security, defence, parliamentary or judicial domains. Responding to a query about the policy, Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima said data protection and usage regulations had become essential with the rapid growth of digitisation.