PILDAT was established in 2001 by a group of non-resident and resident Pakistanis active in the field of social development such as primary and IT education and health in Pakistan since 1995. The creation of PILDAT came about as a realisation through the earlier initiatives that investments in social sector development alone would not achieve desired results until significant contribution is made in the area of strengthening democratic governance in Pakistan.

PILDAT was created so as to contribute towards strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan as a key conduit for strengthening democratic governance. PILDAT places a major focus on legislative capability-building and strengthening; quality non-partisan political research; political leadership development; creation of avenues for a pluralistic and participatory citizen involvement into democratic decision-making; performance monitoring of democratic actors and institutions and education in democracy and political management.