LAHORE/LONDON: The provincial government has appointed Ali Mustafa Dar as Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Artificial Intelligence and Special Initiatives, effectively creating a new department mandated to drive innovation-led policy, technology adoption, and AI-based initiatives across the province.
Advisers enjoy the status and powers of a provincial cabinet minister and have the ability to attend Punjab Assembly sessions as per the prevailing law.
According to sources in the provincial government, Ali — in his ministerial role — would focus on developing and implementing forward-looking projects aimed at improving governance, creating jobs, and improving delivery, with a particular emphasis on emerging technologies and AI-enabled solutions.
Ali has an academic background in science and technology. He studied at University College London (UCL) and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) where he earned a Software Engineering degree. After studying at Aitchison College, Lahore, he moved to the United Kingdom in the year 2000 for higher education.
Since the PML-N government won the elections in 2024, Ali has been involved in a lot of pro-bono country-related work behind the scenes. Having worked successfully internationally for more than two decades, he reportedly played a pivotal role in facilitating many high-level international engagements in PML-N’s current term in office through convincing many of his personal contacts to visit and invest in Pakistan, including arranging visits to Pakistan — both Islamabad and Lahore — by senior global business figures from the tech and real estate industry.
Ali has also been a prominent advocate for autism awareness in Pakistan. He has been associated with initiatives supporting children with autism and has won praise for highlighting autism-related issues on social media, often referencing his personal experience as the father of his son, Ibrahim, who is aged 18 and has autism.
He is married to Asma Nawaz Sharif, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and younger sister of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. He is the eldest son of Senator Ishaq Dar — the country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
Ali, along with his wife and children, remained with Dar and Nawaz during their period in the UK before their return to Pakistan, around three years ago.
In the private sector, Ali is the founder of HDS Group of Companies, of which he also remained the CEO till 2024 before moving back to Pakistan for good. HDS Group is a prominent business conglomerate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with its focus on real estate development. The group’s business operations are now overseen by Ali’s younger brother, Hasnain Dar.
