ISLAMABAD: Leaders of Pakistan’s two top opposition parties on Wednesday pledged to use all democratic and constitutional means required to unseat the government while holding a meeting in the country’s southern port city of Karachi that witnessed massive urban flooding only a few days ago.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said in a Twitter post that he was visiting Karachi to express solidarity with its residents who suffered a great deal due to heavy monsoon rains.
“Here to express my solidarity with the people of Karachi who braved the worst conditions created in wake of heavy downpours and urban flooding,” he wrote on the social media website. “All stakeholders need to sit together to work out a comprehensive and doable plan to uplift the megacity. Politics can wait for another day!”
Sharif visited the top Pakistan People’s Party leaders, Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, along with other senior party members to discuss the country’s overall political situation.
The meeting was followed by a joint news conference that was addressed by the leaders of the two parties who vowed to strengthen democratic institutions by ensuring constitutional supremacy in Pakistan.
Referring to the Charter of Democracy signed between former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, on May 14, 2006, in London, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said that the document required the two parties to rise above their political interests and defend democracy in the country.
The opposition leaders also claimed that the fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens were being violated under the incumbent administration and vowed to resist that while staying within the constitutional framework of the country.
The joint press conference also announced that the PPP would host the Rehbar Committee meeting on Thursday to decide the date for the All Parties Conference (APC).
Apart from criticizing the performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, leaders of the two parties also targeted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that is investigating several high-profile opposition politicians.
The two political factions, who already claim that the anti-graft references against their leaders are politically motivated, decided to resist arrests of their party members by NAB.
Leaders of Pakistan’s top opposition parties to deliberate on anti-government strategy
https://arab.news/g2ytj
Leaders of Pakistan’s top opposition parties to deliberate on anti-government strategy
- PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif meets PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto in Karachi
- The two parties claim the fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens have been usurped
Pakistan says it is moving toward phased crypto regulation after Binance, HTX approvals
- The country is among the world’s largest crypto adoption markets, with nearly 40 million users
- Bilal bin Saqib says the government is not promoting crypto but moving to regulate the sector
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top virtual asset regulatory official said on Sunday the country was laying the foundation for a phased and tightly supervised crypto framework after granting conditional approvals to two global exchanges, signaling a shift from years of regulatory ambiguity toward formal oversight of digital assets.
The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) said this week it had issued no objection certificates (NOCs) to global crypto exchanges Binance and Huobi (HTX). Pakistan has also signed a memorandum of understanding with them to explore what the finance ministry described as the “tokenization” of up to $2 billion in sovereign bonds, treasury bills and commodity reserves, an initiative aimed at boosting liquidity and attracting investors.
“The no objection certificate given to Binance and Huobi is the first practical step of this new thinking,” PVARA chief Bilal bin Saqib said at a briefing. “Let me make it clear that this NOC is not a shortcut. This is not a blanket approval.”
He said the approvals marked the start of a risk-mitigated, phased and supervised entry framework, adding that platforms would be subject to strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements, ownership transparency checks and enforcement-linked licensing timelines.
“This is not a new experiment,” he said, pointing to phased regulatory approaches adopted in financial centers such as Dubai, the United Kingdom and Singapore, where firms are first brought under supervision before being allowed to expand operations.
Pakistan is among the world’s largest crypto adoption markets, with estimates putting the number of users between 30 and 40 million, despite the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework. Saqib said ignoring the sector was no longer viable, warning that unregulated adoption posed greater risks to the economy and consumers.
“We don’t want to promote crypto,” he said. “We want to regulate crypto. Adoption is already there.”
He said the framework was designed to prepare Pakistan for longer-term developments in digital finance, including tokenized assets, compliance technology, blockchain analytics and digital payment infrastructure, while ensuring that local talent is channeled into regulated and productive use.
“For the international community, the message is clear,” Saqib said. “Pakistan is not running away from innovation. Pakistan is welcoming innovation. Pakistan is regulating innovation.”
