Umar Saif (Urdu: عمر سیف; born 1979) is a Pakistani computer scientist and academic.

During his tenure as a chair of the PITB between 2011 and 2018, he founded Pakistan's first technology incubator, Plan 9 and carried out more than 300 projects.

[citation needed] For his research, entrepreneurial ventures, and for being the brains behind digital governance of Punjab and one of the main driving forces behind the IT ecosystem in the country, he was awarded numerous notable awards and titles such as Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Google's Faculty Research Award, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, UNESCO Chair for using ICT for Development, and was named as one of the top 35 young innovators in the world by the MIT Technology Review (TR35).

Upon returning to Pakistan in 2005,[14] Saif joined LUMS[15] where he worked as an associate professor of computer sciences between 2006 and 2013.

[12] In 2011 he was placed on MIT's TR35 list, naming him as one of the world's top 35 young innovators[11] for developing a bittorrent client, BitMate, and a text message-based social network, SMSall.

[12][14] In his role as Chairman of the PITB Saif was made responsible for all public-sector information technology projects in Punjab.

[16] In March 2017 Saif began co-hosting the reality television series Idea Croron Ka as a business expert.

[31] On 12 November 2018, the government of Punjab asked Saif to step down from the office of chairman of the PITB and Vice Chancellor of Information Technology University.

[32][33] He is credited for being the brains behind digital governance of Punjab and one of the main driving forces behind the IT ecosystem in the country.

Additionally, he also revealed plans to establish the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to supplant the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in handling cybercrimes, alongside the creation of a specialized telecom tribunal.

[46][47] He made a similar claim about Nokia's CEO, Pekka Lundmark, visiting Pakistan in September 2023 for investment, which was later denied by the company.

[48] In September, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja accused Saif of undermining a private deal to bring PayPal to Pakistan by prematurely leaking details to media.

[50] Dr Umar Saif was also impacted by a larger with-hunt by the Imran khan's PTI government where many professionals were targeted.

[13][23][57] In August 2014 Saif was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan for his services in the field of education and information technology.