According to Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune, the High Court of Pakistan’s Sindh region would have asked the central government to develop regulations for cryptocurrencies in three months, while listening to a petition challenging the legality of the country’s 2018 crypto ban. The SHC has instructed regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the central bank to work with government agencies such as the Information Technology and Law Ministries to develop cryptographic regulations within three months.
As part of the proceedings, the SHC also requested that a report on the measures taken to regulate cryptocurrencies be submitted in the same time frame. Combating money laundering and terrorist financing is reportedly at the center of government consultation on cryptocurrencies, particularly amid pressure from the Finance Action Task Force. Wednesday’s SHC statement places Sindh as the last province to apply for some form of recognition for cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. In December 2020, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly called on the federal government to legalize cryptocurrencies. At the time, lawmakers stressed the broad nature of digital currency adoption as an indication that cryptocurrencies were poised to replace fiat in the future. Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), like many other central banks around the world, is also studying central bank digital currencies.