Norway: Senator Anusha Rahman, leading a Senate delegation, participated in a panel at the Internet Governance Forum 2025 in Norway, focusing on “Enhancing Digital Policy Practices.” During the discussion, she addressed the global nature of the digital landscape and urged for international cooperation in digital policy formulation.

Senator Rahman highlighted that in the digital world, geographical borders are irrelevant, and the internet’s reach impacts lives globally. She emphasized the need for collaboration beyond domestic regulation, pointing out that digital tools, while neutral by invention, can have varied impacts. The role of lawmakers, she argued, is to navigate these challenges by facilitating responsible use of digital technologies without infringing on individual freedoms.

She outlined the responsibility of parliaments to ensure digital progress aligns with principles of human dignity and democratic freedoms, advocating for shared management of digital governance among governments, legislators, civil society, and the private sector.

Discussing Pakistan’s initiatives, Senator Rahman shared efforts to enhance parliamentary capacity through AI, including the development of a Senate ChatBot aimed at improving legislative efficiency. This AI-powered virtual assistant is expected to provide senators and citizens with real-time access to legislative data and multilingual services.

Senator Rahman called for a unified approach among parliamentarians to protect citizens’ rights in the digital sphere, ensuring that online and offline rights are equally safeguarded. She underscored the need to protect vulnerable groups from online abuse while upholding the right to dissent and access information.

Addressing challenges with social media platforms, she noted Pakistan’s struggle with non-cooperation in enforcing laws, emphasizing the necessity for sovereign nations to collaborate on a cohesive digital policy framework to protect citizens online.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Norway, Sadia Altaf, and senators Aslam Abbro and Falak Naz were also part of the delegation, supporting the call for a comprehensive charter to ensure online rights align with national laws.