March 12, 2025 – Hyderabad: An important meeting was held in the committee room of the Science & Information Technology Department (S&ITD), Government of Sindh, to discuss the development of a framework for integrating Sindhi and Urdu languages into all governmental websites. The meeting was attended by Mr. Amar Fayaz Buriro, Director of Abdul Majid Bhurgri Institute of Language Engineering (AMBILE), Hyderabad; Mr. Ayaz Ahmed Uqaili, Member Industries; and Mr. Saif Ul Malook, Director Operations of S&ITD.
During the discussion, Director Operations of S&ITD informed the participants that the new programming for all government websites is scheduled to launch in the first week of May 2025. This update will ensure that all governmental websites of the Government of Sindh will be available in three languages: English, Sindhi, and Urdu. The initiative aims to promote inclusivity and enhance accessibility for a larger audience across the province.
Mr. Ayaz Ahmed Uqaili emphasized that the localization process should not be limited to the website labels alone but should also cover the major content provided by various departments. He highlighted a significant challenge in this initiative—the lack of proper training for local officials responsible for managing these websites. Recognizing this concern, the participants decided that a comprehensive training program would be organized by S&ITD. This training will focus on enabling the concerned staff of all departments to effectively add content in Sindhi and Urdu languages. The training will also cover the utilization of machine translation tools, followed by human review, to ensure content accuracy and quality.
To facilitate the training program, Mr. Amar Fayaz Buriro, Director AMBILE, along with an officer from S&ITD, will serve as resource persons. Their expertise will ensure that government officials gain the necessary skills to manage multilingual content efficiently.
Furthermore, to formalize and streamline this collaborative effort, it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be developed between S&ITD and AMBILE. This agreement will pave the way for structured cooperation, ultimately leading to the enhancement of online large datasets in Sindhi and Urdu languages.
This initiative marks a significant step towards linguistic inclusivity in Sindh’s digital governance and underscores the commitment of the Government of Sindh to preserving and promoting indigenous languages in the digital sphere.