Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday launched an expanded push for digital governance in the province, describing technology-driven reforms as central to building a transparent, efficient and citizen-centric government, as he presided over the signing ceremony for the e-stamping system.
The ceremony held at the CM House marked the signing of a master service level agreement and service order between the Board of Revenue (BoR) and the Sindh Information Technology Company (SITC) for the continued rollout and expansion of the e-stamping platform, an initiative aimed at digitising government documentation, eliminating fake stamp papers and simplifying services for citizens.
Shah said on the occasion that the reform is part of a broader strategy to modernise governance in Sindh through digital systems that enhance transparency, efficiency and ease of access for the public.
“In just five months since the SITC took over the system, more than 730,000 challans have been processed and Rs12.8 billion collected through the e-stamping platform transparently and efficiently.”
He said that the significance of the reform goes beyond revenue generation, noting that the system is helping eliminate long-standing irregularities in documentation. “The e-stamping system is helping eliminate the mafia of fake stamp papers, end the practice of backdated documentation and free citizens from standing in long queues outside government offices.”
He also said that the next phase of the initiative would introduce a fully paperless system, enabling citizens to generate stamp documents online directly from their laptops or mobile devices. “This reform is not simply a technological upgrade. It is about restoring trust between the government and the people of Sindh.”
Shah noted that being Pakistan’s most urbanised and economically dynamic province, Sindh requires modern governance tools to effectively manage its large population and economic activity.
He said the provincial government has established the SITC to serve as the institutional driver of digital transformation across departments. He commended the SITC’s leadership and technical team for rapidly implementing key reforms, urging ministers and administrative secretaries to actively collaborate with the organisation to modernise their departmental systems.
Referring to the recently approved government-to-government framework, Shah said departments can now directly engage with the SITC through service level agreements and MoUs, eliminating lengthy procurement procedures and accelerating project implementation. “This streamlined framework will allow departments to resolve their technological challenges quickly, and significantly accelerate the pace of digital transformation.”
He also outlined several upcoming digital initiatives being developed by the SITC, including the launch of Sindh Pay, a unified digital payment platform that would allow citizens to pay government taxes, fees and other charges directly through mobile devices.
He said the government is also establishing a dedicated provincial data centre to ensure that sensitive government and citizen data remain securely hosted within Pakistan. He revealed that the provincial government is exploring the responsible use of artificial intelligence to provide round-the-clock digital assistance to citizens in English, Sindhi and Urdu regarding government services.
He said that digital reforms are also being extended to education and public administration, including the introduction of secure digital verification of student records at public universities to curb fake degrees, digitisation of property tax systems, and paperless issuance of domicile and PRCs.
“The days when citizens had to run from office to office for basic services are coming to an end. Our goal is to bring government services directly to the people, wherever they are.” Special Assistant to the CM on Information Technology Ali Rashid briefed the CM on the initiative, saying that digital technology represents the future of governance, and would ensure faster, transparent and hassle-free public services. The e-stamping system will significantly reduce corruption, streamline government processes and improve citizen convenience, he added.
Earlier, SITC CEO Zainul Abedin Shah briefed the CM on the organisation’s mandate to promote digital excellence and transparent governance. He explained that the transition to e-stamping is designed to eliminate fake stamp papers, fraudulent backdated stamps and revenue leakages associated with manual transactions. He said the SITC has already introduced an AI-based chatbot providing trilingual support in Sindhi, Urdu and English to assist citizens using the system.
The briefing also outlined a roadmap for future digital initiatives, including the development of a Sindh Citizen Super App, which will integrate more than 130 government services into a single digital platform, and the establishment of a provincial government data centre to secure Sindh’s digital infrastructure.
The CM said that the collaboration between the BoR and the SITC represents a major step toward establishing a data-driven, technology-enabled governance framework aimed at improving transparency, boosting revenue collection and delivering faster public services across Sindh.
