Pakistan’s national regulator for virtual assets and blockchain.
Islamabad, Pakistan
Joined April 2025
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Building stronger institutions for the future of digital finance.
In Bangkok, Minister of State and PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib met Zinga Venner, Vice President and World Bank Group Controller; Junxue Chu, Director, Trust Funds and Loan Operations; and Thomas Puschnik, Solutions and Transformation Manager, WBG Controllers.
Discussions explored blockchain-based financial transparency, AI-enabled supervision and strengthening Pakistan’s digital asset regulatory infrastructure.
@WorldBankGroup | @Bilalbinsaqib
PVARA Chairman and Minister of State Bilal Bin Saqib joined Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb in discussions with Mashreq Bank’s senior leadership.
The meeting explored opportunities for collaboration on tokenisation, blockchain and digital assets, advancing Pakistan’s ambition to build a globally connected, innovation-driven financial ecosystem.
Finance Minister Discusses Mashreq Bank’s Expansion, Opportunities in Digital Banking and Financial Inclusion
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with Mashreq Bank’s senior management to discuss its expanding presence in Pakistan.
The Finance Minister highlighted macroeconomic gains and renewed market access, reaffirming support for Mashreq’s expansion and sustainable growth. He reviewed digital banking growth and opportunities to advance financial inclusion through technology and microfinance.
Discussion also covered expanding offshore service operations, drawing on Pakistan’s skilled workforce. The meeting explored digital accounts for overseas Pakistanis, foreign-currency products and wider outreach across the GCC.
He also discussed collaboration on tokenization, blockchain and digital assets within Pakistan’s evolving regulatory framework. He reviewed potential support for Sukuk, further Panda bond issuance and innovative financing under Pakistan’s medium-term debt strategy.
PVARA Chairman and Minister of State Bilal Bin Saqib met Sangbu Kim, World Bank Group Vice President for Digital & AI, alongside Jonathan Gen Nagao, Director for Data & AI, and Ozan Sevimli, Acting Director of Strategy & Operations.
Discussions explored potential collaboration on AI-powered regulation, asset tokenisation, and institutional capacity building, with a focus on leveraging AI to strengthen Pakistan’s regulatory capabilities and accelerate its digital economy.
@WorldBankGroup | @Bilalbinsaqib
Minister of State and Chairman PVARA, Bilal Bin Saqib, met Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank Group, on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok.
Discussions explored potential cooperation on tokenisation, digital bonds and AI-enabled financial operations, including opportunities for knowledge exchange and institutional capacity building.
The focus was on how responsible financial innovation could support deeper capital markets, more efficient settlement and broader access to capital for Pakistan, while preserving investor protection and financial stability.
@WorldBankGroup | @Familiar_BM | @Bilalbinsaqib
At the IMF–World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib met the International Finance Corporation’s Regional Vice President Imad N. Fakhoury to explore potential collaboration on tokenised bonds and sukuk, digital asset infrastructure, cross-border payments and mobilising international private capital.
The discussion focused on leveraging emerging financial technologies to attract investment, deepen capital markets and unlock new opportunities for Pakistan’s economy.
Today, Minister of State and PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib briefed Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and the Federal Cabinet on Pakistan’s landmark progress in virtual asset regulation.
From establishing a statutory regulator and introducing comprehensive licensing regulations to attracting leading global virtual asset businesses, launching a regulatory sandbox and developing AI-enabled regulatory infrastructure, Pakistan has laid the foundations for a new era of digital finance.
Chairman PVARA Bilal Bin Saqib met Mr. Simon Andrews, Director IFC, and Ms. Naz Khan, Principal Country Officer, IFC Pakistan, to explore how Pakistan’s emerging digital-asset framework can help mobilise private capital, deepen financial markets and support the next generation of financial infrastructure.
Discussions covered potential collaboration across tokenised bonds and sukuk, SME and private-market financing, institutional digital-asset infrastructure, cross-border payments and remittances, and investment pathways for Pakistan’s fintech ecosystem.
@IFC_org
At UN Digital Cooperation Day 2026, Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN and PVARA joined UN ODET in convening a global dialogue on the tokenised future of finance.
Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and Tanzania’s Minister Angellah Kairuki opened the session, followed by a high-level panel featuring Minister of State and PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib, Singapore’s Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Paystand CEO Jeremy Almond and YZi Labs Managing Partner Ella Zhang.
The discussion focused on the questions that will define the next generation of financial infrastructure: tokenisation, digital public infrastructure, capital formation, sovereign choice, interoperability and safeguards.
Pakistan is moving from regulating the digital asset economy at home to contributing to the international conversation on what comes next.
@ODET_UN | @UN | @Financegovpk | @Bilalbinsaqib
Minister of State and Chairman PVARA @BilalBinSaqib met with Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer at @UNDP, in New York.
The discussion focused on the responsible use of blockchain and emerging technologies for development, including opportunities for financial inclusion, public-purpose innovation, institutional capacity building and greater international cooperation.
The meeting builds on the growing engagement between PVARA and UNDP around how emerging technologies can be deployed responsibly to support development outcomes, particularly across emerging economies.
At UN Digital Cooperation Day 2026, in a high-level session co-convened by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN and PVARA, Bilal Bin Saqib, Minister of State and Chairman PVARA, called for the Global South to move from being adopters of emerging technologies to helping shape the systems, standards and infrastructure of the digital economy.
From tokenised assets and stablecoins to remittances, sovereign debt and real estate, he highlighted the potential of emerging technologies to transform how value moves, broaden financial access and create new avenues for economic growth.
@Bilalbinsaqib | @ODET_UN | @UN | @PakistanUN_NY
At the 81st UNGA High-Level Event on Social Business, Youth and Technology, Minister of State @BilalBinSaqib addressed global leaders alongside H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly; President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Laureate José Ramos-Horta; Prime Minister of Bhutan Dasho Tshering Tobgay; and Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
His message from the United Nations was clear: AI, tokenisation and digital finance can expand opportunity for billions, but emerging economies must have a voice in building the infrastructure, institutions and rules that will govern this new age.
Pakistan is helping shape the global conversation on the future of digital finance.
On 21 September, during UNGA High-Level Week in New York, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, in collaboration with Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and PVARA, will convene a first-of-its-kind high-level discussion on:
*Blockchain and the Tokenized Future: Sovereign Choices and Safeguards for Next-Gen DPI*
Pakistan’s Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, will deliver the opening remarks, with Bilal Bin Saqib, Minister of State and Chairman PVARA, joining the high-level panel alongside government and global industry leaders.
The conversation is moving beyond crypto, into payments, remittances, securities, commodities, capital formation and the infrastructure through which value will move.
More details: un.org/digital-emerging-tech…
@ODET_UN | @PakistanUN_NY | @Financegovpk | @BilalBinSaqib | @UN
🤖 Made with AI
PVARA and UNDP explore how blockchain and virtual assets can serve public purpose and development in Pakistan.
A UNDP delegation led by Samuel Rizk, Resident Representative, visited PVARA to discuss cooperation on capacity building, public-purpose use cases, innovation platforms and responsible digital asset development.
Both sides agreed to take forward practical areas of collaboration.
@UNDP
PVARA today hosted the World Bank Pakistan team for a discussion on the future of digital finance and emerging technologies.
The conversation explored potential areas of collaboration around tokenisation, digital financial infrastructure, capital-market development, AI, cybersecurity and private capital mobilisation.
As global institutions increasingly bring these issues into the mainstream economic policy agenda, Pakistan has an opportunity to engage early, build institutional capacity and help shape the next generation of financial infrastructure.
@WBG_Pakistan
Preparing Pakistan for the future of finance.
Minister of State @BilalBinSaqib discusses how rapid advances in technology are reshaping financial infrastructure and why regulatory frameworks must evolve alongside them.
From digital assets and AI to tokenization and emerging financial models, Pakistan is building the foundations for greater participation in the next generation of the digital economy.
What if Pakistan became the birthplace of the next frontier economy? 🇵🇰
At Bitcoin Asia, @BilalBinSaqib shared his vision for Pakistan’s future, from tokenization and financial inclusion to building the next generation of AI companies.
From Pakistan, for the world.
“A ban is not a control. A ban is the removal of your own instrumentation.”
At the Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum in Tashkent, Chairman PVARA @BilalBinSaqib joined global regulators for a discussion on the future of digital assets, tokenisation and financial regulation.
He shared Pakistan’s journey from prohibition to regulation, the case for bringing activity into the regulated perimeter, and the opportunity to build the next generation of financial infrastructure.
Watch the full discussion.
1.4 billion adults remain outside the formal financial system. That is not just a gap. It is a design failure.
At the United Nations, Minister of State & Chairman PVARA Bilal Bin Saqib laid out a vision for digital finance built around access, inclusion and real-world impact.
Full keynote below.
@UNDP | @UNCTAD | @PakistanUN_NY | @BilalBinSaqib | @ODET_UN
Pakistan’s experience at the @UN reflects a simple ambition: to help shape the rules of the next financial era, not inherit them after they are written.
#PakistanAtUN
#PakistanAtUN
Speakers at Pakistan-Hosted Event Call for Inclusive, Responsible Digital Finance, Highlight Regulatory Experience and Role of Technology in Sustainable Development
Minister Bilal Bin Saqib Highlights Pakistan’s Regulatory Framework for Responsible Digital Asset Innovation
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad Calls for Developing Countries to Shape, Benefit from Digital Financial Innovation
At the @UN Headquarters, PVARA Chairman and Minister of State Bilal Bin Saqib shared Pakistan’s regulatory journey as Member States, @UNDP, @UNCTAD and @ODET_UN came together to discuss the role of digital assets, tokenization and blockchain in sustainable development.
The Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology (ODET), convened a briefing at the United Nations Headquarters on the opportunities and policy challenges associated with digital assets, blockchain, tokenization and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) for sustainable development.
Held at the UN headquarters, the briefing brought together Member States, UN entities and experts from the public and private sectors to exchange perspectives on the rapidly evolving digital financial landscape and examine how emerging technologies can contribute to financial inclusion, efficient payments and remittances, investment, capital mobilization, digital identity, public services and sustainable development.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Bilal Bin Saqib, Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), who outlined Pakistan’s experience in developing a regulatory framework for digital assets.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan, welcomed the guests and made concluding remarks.
Mr. Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer of UNDP, Mr. Juan José Martinez Badillo, Chief of UNCTAD’s New York Office and Mr. Quintin Chou-Lambert, Deputy to the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology shared their perspectives on the occasion. The main presentations were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Muhammad Faheem, Second Secretary of the Pakistan Mission.
A quick recap of the briefing below
@robert_opp
@UNDP
@UNCTAD
@UNTechEnvoy
@PakistanPR_UN
@Asimiahmad
@Bilalbinsaqib
@PakistanVARA