The federal cabinet has approved the appointment of Faisal Iqbal Ratyal as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Information Technology Board (NITB). His appointment was confirmed through a formal notification issued by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) following cabinet approval on October 17, 2025. Ratyal will serve on a contract basis for three years under the Special Professional Pay Scale (SPPS-I) policy of the federal government.
According to the notification issued by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, Faisal Iqbal Ratyal’s appointment has been made with immediate effect in pursuance of the Cabinet Division’s Memorandum No. DY.978(S)/2025-Cab and Federal Cabinet’s approval in Case No. 709/Rule-19/2025/978. The notification was signed by Ijaz Ahmed, Section Officer to the Government of Pakistan.
Faisal Iqbal Ratyal has been associated with the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication for several years. He was appointed as Acting CEO of NITB in May 2025 and has previously served the ministry as Director General of Telecom. Ratyal also held the position of Director General within NITB, where he contributed to various technology-driven government initiatives.
The position of NITB’s CEO had been vacant since April 2025 following the retirement of Babar Majid Bhatti, who completed his three-year tenure. Bhatti had led several major digital transformation initiatives under the Digital Pakistan vision during his term.
In July this year, the federal cabinet decided to retain the National Information Technology Board under the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, reversing an earlier plan to dissolve the organization. The decision, approved under the Rules of Business 1973, followed MoITT’s recommendation to keep NITB operational. The move came after last year’s Rightsizing Committee proposal to abolish the board and decentralize IT procurement functions across ministries, which has now been set aside in favor of maintaining NITB’s centralized digital governance role.