(Web Desk) - Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has cautioned that Pakistan could slip back onto the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list if unregulated digital transactions continue unchecked.
The warning comes as the government prepares to hold the first meeting of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) on Monday (today). The newly created federal body, set up through a Virtual Assets Ordinance, has been tasked with supervising entities dealing in cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Aurangzeb disclosed that nearly 25 million Pakistanis — about 10 to 15 percent of the population, mostly youth — are engaged in digital businesses. He stressed that this activity cannot remain outside the regulatory net, particularly given Pakistan’s difficult six-year effort to exit the FATF watch-list. “If activity of this scale continues unregulated, it is not a matter of if, but when we get into trouble as a sovereign again,” he said at a workshop on blockchain and digital assets.
The minister said amendments to formally recognize digital currencies remain pending before the federal cabinet. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a committee to review these proposals, including one allowing dual nationals to serve as deputy governors of the central bank.