Pakistan’s inaugural Indus AI Week 2026 brought together industry, government and innovators for a week-long showcase of artificial intelligence capabilities as the country pivots from policy toward practical deployment of technology, with events running from February 9–15. The summit and accompanying innovation arena at the Islamabad Sports Complex spotlighted AI’s expanding role in defense, agriculture and autonomous systems.
The expo floor was divided into two primary types of stalls: commercial technology showcases and defense-oriented exhibits, the latter developed through collaborations between the military and domestic startups. One notable theme was the use of AI in drone navigation systems designed to operate without direct human control, signaling a push toward fully autonomous aerial platforms. These systems attracted significant attention from both industry peers and policy makers as examples of Pakistan’s evolving capabilities in unmanned systems.
Alongside autonomous navigation, exhibitors demonstrated electronic warfare tools such as jammers intended to block or disrupt hostile drones, a technology that sits at the intersection of AI, defense and security. These systems show the dual-use nature of AI: while some technologies enhance agricultural productivity and commercial efficiency, others serve defense purposes too. Particularly, after the May 2025 altercation where India tried to infiltrate Pakistani civilian zones with a swarm of drones, this duality of drone tech is unavoidable.
Agriculture also featured prominently, only second to defense ventures. Startups showcased AI-enhanced drones for precision farming, aimed at crop monitoring, targeted spraying and real-time soil assessment, reinforcing the government’s broader drive to integrate AI-assisted tools into traditional sectors like agriculture and industry.
Other than AI-driven drones, there were other equipment that stole the show, particularly the combat rover:
Many stallholders acknowledged that most of the AI agents on display were trained on existing datasets, and no groundbreaking new data sources were revealed publicly. Representatives explained that training these models typically requires 30-40 days, a timeline that reflects how compute-intensive and iterative AI development remains even for mature use cases. Given the sensitive nature of some defense technologies and diplomatic considerations, several products were presented only at a high level without detailed technical briefings.
Indus AI Week 2026 reaffirmed the government’s commitment to integrating artificial intelligence across sectors, albeit lacking innovative, new tech.