Punjab s ‘Mera Pyara’ project wins UN Global Champion recognition
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed gratitude after the province s Mera Pyara project was declared a Global Champion by the United Nations-backed World Summit on the Information Society Awards 2026. In a landmark achievement for Pakistan, two projects launched under the leadership of the chief minister have been included in the top rankings of the WSIS Awards. The Virtual Centre for Child Safety Mera Pyara project has been ranked among the world s top five initiatives, while the Virtual Women Police Station has been shortlisted among the top 20 projects globally. The inclusion of the two Punjab government initiatives has made Pakistan the only country in the world with two shortlisted projects in the WSIS category. Congratulating the Mera Pyara project team on being named a Global Champion, Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the recognition of two Punjab programmes at the prestigious United Nations forum was a matter of honour and reflected the province s progress in digital governance and public service delivery. She said the Virtual Centre for Child Safety had set a remarkable example by handling more than 145,000 child-related cases and taking effective action in over 54,000 cases involving missing children. CM Punjab termed the efforts made for tracing and protecting missing children highly commendable. The chief minister added the project had also provided assistance in cases related to child abuse, online harassment and the protection of vulnerable children. She added that the international recognition of Mera Punjab was evidence of global acknowledgment of technology-driven public services and had helped project a positive image of Pakistan worldwide. According to the WSIS report, the Virtual Centre for Child Safety has dealt with more than 145,772 cases across various categories, of which 136,157 have been successfully resolved. A total of 26,274 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered, while 7,081 challans have been submitted