Experts at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) emphasized that in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), high-quality linguistic datasets are essential for the preservation, documentation and effective representation of Pakistani languages in modern technologies, expressing these views during a one-day international workshop on “Development of Multimodal Datasets for Pakistani Languages” organised by the university. The inaugural session was chaired by Professor Dr Syed Amir Shah, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, who said standardized multimodal datasets would ensure effective representation in the digital world and provide a foundation for linguistic research, education and language technologies, congratulating the Department of English and the Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI). Fakhruddin Akhunzada, Executive Director of FLI, said around 80 languages were spoken in Pakistan, many facing challenges to their survival, and that data on six Pakistani languages had already been collected while local communities were being trained in language documentation and preservation. Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan, Chairman, Department of English, said multimodal data on Pashto, Punjabi, Hazaragi, Saraiki and other Pakistani languages had been collected for linguistic research and AI applications. Dr Maisam Ali of Indiana University, USA, the Principal Investigator, said comprehensive linguistic data had been collected within a short period through teamwork and modern research methodologies, and the dataset would help preserve and promote local languages and integrate them into future AI systems. Dr Rashida Imran said documenting Pakistani languages and developing standardized multimodal datasets were crucial for