WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Thursday approved President Joe Biden's nomination of Zahid Quraishi, a magistrate judge in New Jersey, to the federal bench, making him the first Muslim federal judge in US history.
The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 81-16 to confirm Quraishi, 46, who is the son of Pakistani immigrants and a former federal and military prosecutor.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York noted on the Senate floor that while Islam is the third-largest religion in the US, no Muslim has ever served on the federal bench.
"We must expand not only demographic diversity but professional diversity, and I know that President Biden agrees with me on this and this will be something that I will set out to do," Schumer said.
Quraishi could not immediately be reached for comment.
Before being appointed as a magistrate in 2019, which did not require Senate confirmation, Quraishi was a partner in the white-collar criminal defense practice of New Jersey law firm Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti.
He had previously worked as an assistant US attorney, assistant chief counsel with the Department of Homeland Security, and a prosecutor with the US Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. Quraishi served two tours with the Army in Iraq, in 2004 and 2006.
The Senate on Thursday also voted 52-46 to elevate US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the District of Columbia to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Jackson, whose record on the bench was criticized by some Republicans, is widely considered a contender for any US Supreme Court vacancy that arises during the Biden administration.
Quraishi and Jackson were nominated in March along with a diverse slate of nine other candidates that included several women and Black and Asian-American nominees. The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the first two Biden-appointed judges to the bench in New Jersey and Colorado.
First Muslim federal judge in US history is son of Pakistani immigrants
https://arab.news/456wa
First Muslim federal judge in US history is son of Pakistani immigrants
- Zahid Quraishi has previously worked as a prosecutor with the US Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and served two tours in Iraq
- Senator Chuck Schumer says no Muslim has ever served on the federal bench even as Islam is the third-largest religion in the US
Pakistan, global crypto exchange discuss modernizing digital payments, creating job prospects
- Pakistani officials, Binance team discuss coordination between Islamabad, local banks and global exchanges
- Pakistan has attempted to tap into growing crypto market to curb illicit transactions, improve oversight
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance officials and the team of a global cryptocurrency exchange on Friday held discussions aimed at modernizing the country’s digital payments system and building local talent pipelines to meet rising demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, the finance ministry said.
The development took place during a high-level meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib, domestic bank presidents and a Binance team led by Global CEO Richard Teng. The meeting was held to advance work on Pakistan’s National Digital Asset Framework, a regulatory setup to govern Pakistan’s digital assets.
Pakistan has been moving to regulate its fast-growing crypto and digital assets market by bringing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under a formal licensing regime. Officials say the push is aimed at curbing illicit transactions, improving oversight, and encouraging innovation in blockchain-based financial services.
“Participants reviewed opportunities to modernize Pakistan’s digital payments landscape, noting that blockchain-based systems could significantly reduce costs from the country’s $38 billion annual remittance flows,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Discussions also emphasized building local talent pipelines to meet rising global demand for blockchain and Web3 skills, creating high-value employment prospects for Pakistani youth.”
Blockchain is a type of digital database that is shared, transparent and tamper-resistant. Instead of being stored on one computer, the data is kept on a distributed network of computers, making it very hard to alter or hack.
Web3 refers to the next generation of the Internet built using blockchain, focusing on giving users more control over their data, identity and digital assets rather than big tech companies controlling it.
Participants of the meeting also discussed sovereign debt tokenization, which is the process of converting a country’s debt such as government bonds, into digital tokens on a blockchain, the ministry said.
Aurangzeb called for close coordination between the government, domestic banks and global exchanges to modernize Pakistan’s payment landscape.
Participants of the meeting also discussed considering a “time-bound amnesty” to encourage users to move assets onto regulated platforms, stressing the need for stronger verifications and a risk-mitigation system.
Pakistan has attempted in recent months to tap into the country’s growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering and terror financing, and promote responsible innovation — a move analysts say could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.
In September, Islamabad invited international crypto exchanges and other VASPs to apply for licenses to operate in the country, a step aimed at formalizing and regulating its fast-growing digital market.
