Mobile telephony
Tasked with the Ministry of Telecom and Information Technology, Awais shifted to Islamabad to fulfill his newfound duties and worked efficiently to deregulate the telecom sector and privatized Ufone and PTCL. Despite immense pressure that came with the decision, Awais stood tall and came up with alternatives such as ‘the voluntary separation scheme,’ to provide an opportunity to staff that had to be laid off, which helped stem PTCL’s privatization issues. The privatization of PTCL earned the economy billions of Rupees.  Due to his active work, Mobile telephony increased from 2.8 million to over 65 million from 2002-2007; a manifold boost that had never been witnessed before. Recognized as a performing ministry, Awais was nominated and selected as a Young Global Leader from the World Economic Forum, where his visits to Davos were used to highlight problems such as terrorism and poverty that Pakistan was facing.