Scheme launched in Islamabad

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally launched the Prime Minister's Youth Chromebook Scheme in Islamabad on 25 October 2026. Under the scheme, 500,000 Chromebooks equipped with portable MiFi internet devices will be distributed to students over the next two years. Selection will be based on merit, and students from mainstream schools as well as religious seminaries are included. At the launch ceremony, devices were handed over to high-performing Grade 9 students and seminary students.

Merit-based access, regardless of background

The prime minister said talent and hard work should not be limited by a family's financial circumstances, and that the aim is to give students access to e-libraries, online classes and quality learning material. Each selected student will also receive a bag alongside the Chromebook and internet device, so they can study from home and elsewhere. The scheme is part of the Prime Minister's Youth Programme, and the government thanked the Tokyo Technology Care Foundation for partnering in the initiative.

Part of a wider education push

Officials linked the scheme to earlier laptop distribution programmes, with the prime minister noting that 600,000 laptops had been distributed over the previous decade. The launch also highlighted the expansion of Daanish Schools, with one recently inaugurated in Islamabad and 27 other campuses reported to be under construction across the country. Those schools are intended to offer modern facilities and curricula, with services provided free of charge. Distribution details, including how merit lists will be applied in each province and region, will determine how quickly students receive the devices, but the launch itself sets a two-year timetable for the full rollout.