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KARACHI: Pakistan, in partnership with video-streaming app TikTok, on Monday launched its dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) feed, the Pakistani information technology (IT) ministry said, reinforcing the country’s commitment to make high-quality educational content more accessible and engaging for all.

The new STEM feed on TikTok is a dedicated, in-app experience where users can explore a curated stream of high-quality content that is designed to spark curiosity, promote critical thinking and expand digital learning opportunities, especially for students, educators and young professionals, across Pakistan, according to the IT ministry.

TikTok is also partnering with leading academic institutions across the country to launch a training program for teachers, educators and instructors. These trainings are focused on empowering them with the tools, techniques and best practices needed to create compelling, informative and engaging STEM content tailored for short-form video.

“This initiative is aligned with our broader vision to use digital platforms to enhance education and skill development in Pakistan,” Pakistan’s Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said.

“TikTok’s STEM feed is an excellent example of how technology can democratize access to knowledge and empower our youth, including aspiring female students, to explore new career pathways in science and technology.”

The minister announced that her government was developing a new policy to provide smartphones to Pakistanis on easy installments, ensuring digital devices are accessible to every individual.

Under the DigiSkills program, she said, 100,000 youth had been trained in the past year and the target for this year is to provide artificial intelligence (AI) training to 1 million children.

State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Wajiha Qamar welcomed the launch of TikTok’s dedicated STEM Feed in Pakistan as a step toward making science and technology more accessible and relatable to Pakistani youth.

“Digital platforms, when used responsibly, can become powerful tools for education, creativity, and empowerment. This initiative aligns with our national goals to promote STEM learning and build a future-ready generation— curious, skilled, and inspired,” she said.

TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels.

In addition to the dedicated feed, TikTok will be actively nurturing Pakistan’s local STEM creator community, providing training and guidance to increase the volume and quality of STEM content across the platform in English, Urdu and regional languages as well, according to the IT ministry.

This effort is aimed at building a self-sustaining educational ecosystem where both formal educators and independent creators contribute to a shared mission: making STEM education fun, inclusive, and discoverable.

The video-sharing platform has launched a dedicated hashtag #StemTok as well as a landing page, where it will feature content created by partners, creators and publishers, providing easy access to local language STEM content in Pakistan.

“The launch of the TikTok STEM feed in Pakistan marks an exciting milestone in our mission to inspire and educate through creativity,” said Fahad Muhammad Khan Niazi, TikTok’s head of public policy and government relations in Pakistan. 

“By partnering with the MoITT (Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication), Government of Pakistan, and by collaborating with prestigious academic institutions, we are investing in Pakistan’s future talent. STEM education has the power to transform lives, and we are proud to be supporting its digital evolution on TikTok.”

By combining the reach and creative potential of TikTok with the expertise of Pakistan’s top educational institutions and government bodies, the STEM feed will create new, scalable avenues for learning, according to the Pakistani IT ministry.

“From explaining complex physics concepts through short videos to coding tutorials, engineering hacks, and climate science awareness, STEM content will now be more relatable and accessible than ever before,” it said, adding the initiative aims to foster innovation and empower youth through technology-driven education.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established a new Directorate of Forensic Lab within its Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to enhance its capacity to examine digital equipment, travel documents and probe financial fraud cases, an FIA spokesperson said on Monday.

The FIA is Pakistan’s premier investigative agency responsible for handling a wide range of national and transnational crimes, including cybercrime, human trafficking, immigration violations, financial fraud, militancy and corruption.

Within the agency, investigators faced challenges including outdated tools, limited funding, and a lack of advanced hardware and software for forensic investigations, according to officials.

The agency previously outsourced forensic analyzes, particularly of documents, digital media and banking frauds, to the overburdened Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) or regional labs, leading to delayed results.

“Restructuring process continues in FIA as a new Directorate of Forensic Lab [has been] established at the headquarters of the agency,” FIA spokesperson Abdul Ghafoor told Arab News, adding the new facility would enhance the FIA’s forensic examination capabilities and modernize its investigative process.

“The forensic lab will allow for detailed forensic examination of travel documents as the directorate is equipped with advanced technological tools and facilities.”

With the increasing use of mobile phones and laptops in crimes, Ghafoor said, forensic analysis of gadgets has become essential to obtain verified data and present it as evidence in court.

“Digital forensics of mobile phones and laptops used by suspects will be conducted using state-of-the-art equipment and also fingerprint analysis of suspects will also be possible [through the lab],” he added.

The directorate has been equipped with a geo-fencing system and represents a significant step toward establishing a modern and effective investigation system, according to the official. It will also provide technical support in investigating banking fraud cases.

Top former FIA officials believe establishing the new forensic directorate was a “long-overdue step” and it will help FIA investigations by enabling reliable digital evidence collection in both cyber and financial crime domains.

“This was a long-overdue step as manual methods of analysis have more possibility of error margins and inconsistent results, which hampered the progress of investigations,” Ammar Jaffery, a former FIA director-general, told Arab News.

He said digital forensic capabilities were critical in today’s complex crime landscape, which ranges from cybercrime to document forgery.

“This new directorate will not only ensure accurate and timely analysis but will also strengthen the agency’s ability to gather admissible evidence, and support prosecution,” Jaffery added.

Bashir Memon, another former FIA DG, said mobile devices were now central to most criminal investigations, including those of extortion, harassment and militancy.

“Without proper digital forensic tools, crucial evidence often remained hidden or was challenged in court,” he told Arab News.

“The new forensic directorate enables precise mobile data extraction, call pattern analysis, and geo-fencing, which are essential for building strong, court-admissible cases.”

In cases of financial and bank frauds, Memon said, traditional investigation methods were insufficient to trace digital footprints, track money trails, or verify forged documents.

“With the digital forensic lab equipped with the modern technology, FIA can now authenticate financial records, detect manipulated transactions, and verify identities linked to fake accounts or forged passports vastly improving outcomes in white-collar crime cases,” he added.