ISLAMABAD: The government formally announced the creation of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) on Monday to operate as an independent regulator for licencing, monitoring and supervising virtual asset service providers (Vasp), ensuring alignment with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines and international best practices.

“The federal cabinet has formally approved the summary for the creation of the PVARA, a landmark step towards establishing a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for overseeing the country’s rapidly growing digital assets ecosystem”, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

“The cabinet’s approval is a critical inflexion point in this journey. Once legislated, the authority will be responsible for issuing licences, supervising VASPs, setting technical standards, and coordinating compliance with FATF, IMF, and World Bank guidelines,” the statement said,........

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