ISLAMABAD: Following the recent visits of ‘President Trump’s advisers for digital assets’, the Ministry of Finance appears to have left the Ministry of Science and Technology high and dry over its months-long endeavour to be the custodian of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.

Sources told Dawn that the Ministry of Science, under Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, has been coordinating with a working group of almost two dozen senior civil and military officials from about 16 stakeholders to prepare for “virtual assets regulations in Pakistan” and had finalised a formal summary to the cabinet for discussions and approval.

These stakeholders include the ministries of science, IT, finance and foreign affairs and regulatory bodies like the State Bank of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

Others include the Federal Board of Revenue, Financial Monitoring Unit, Anti-Money Laundering and Counterter­rorism Financing Authority and intelligence and investigation agencies. In addition, several experts in digital assets and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) were also on board.

Finance ministry takes lead in shaping virtual assets

Documents seen by Dawn........

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