Islamabad, January 14, 2026: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the first advisory board meeting on the establishment of a 300-student Centre of Excellence for Autism in Islamabad, aimed at providing world-class care, inclusion, and support for children with autism and their families.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed proposed timelines to complete the Centre within one year, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s directions. Detailed discussions were held on specialised architectural requirements, staffing needs, human resource frameworks, and service design, with a strong emphasis on hiring trained professionals and practitioners with hands-on experience in autism care.
Senator Ishaq Dar endorsed a comprehensive and nationally integrated approach for the initiative, stressing the importance of background screening for individuals working with children, the adoption of structured learning tools, and the use of evidence-based methods for early diagnosis and intervention. He also underscored the need to establish linkages with leading international autism centres to incorporate global best practices.
The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, the Secretary Health, Special Secretary Finance, senior officials from the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs, as well as experts and specialists in the field of autism.
