PM Imran Khan approves setting up of Civil Drone Authority
Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the establishment of a Civil Drone Authority for the purpose of regulating and controlling unmanned aircraft in the country.
The authority will put in place an institutionalised mechanism to facilitate the development and regulation of the sector.
It will decide matters relating to the licensing, import, manufacturing, examination and issuance of drone permits.
The Authority will also develop standards for manufacturing, operations, training and research and development of such aircraft.
Furthermore, it will provide technical guidance to the industrial sector to facilitate domestic manufacturing.
The Authority will be empowered to impose fines and penalties, including cancellation of license and registration, besides initiation of legal proceedings under the prevailing civil and criminal laws.
Establishment of Drone Authority is another milestone achieved, we are focusing on Agriculture Drones and Police Drones another initiative to establish Disruptive technologies authority is underway that ll pave the way for 3D Printers and robotics industry in Pakistan
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 13, 2021
Headed by Secretary Aviation Division, the composition of the Authority includes senior level representation from PAF, Civil Aviation, Defence Production, Interior and Ministry of Science and Technology.
It also includes representative each from the federating units including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
وزیر اعظم عمران خان نے سول ڈرون اتھارٹی کے قیام کی منظوری دے دی
سول ڈرون اتھارٹی کے قیام کا مقصد ملک میں ڈرون ٹیکنالوجی کا فروغ، ڈویلپمنٹ اور اس اہم شعبے کو ریگولیٹ کرنا ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/kTAgZ7Bqmd
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) March 13, 2021
Three eminent experts of the field will also be members of the authority.
‘Need of the hour’
Prime Minister Imran Khan in his remarks stated that employing drone technology for commercial, research and development, agricultural and other peaceful purposes was the need of the hour.
He observed that the establishment of a drone authority will not only fill the existing vacuum due to non-availability of laws to regulate this important sector, but will also be instrumental in the promotion and domestic production of this critical technology.
He said that effective use of drone technology in various sectors will help in resource optimisation and better service delivery.
The prime minister has directed that the process of legislation for establishment of authority be completed on priority.
The bill will be introduced in the Parliament after its approval by the Cabinet.
‘Another milestone achieved’
Speaking of the development, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that the authority is “another milestone achieved”.
He said that the focus is on agriculture drones and police drones and spoke of an initiative to establish a “disruptive technologies authority” that will pave the way for 3D printers and a full-fledged robotics industry in Pakistan.
