KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD: A committee formed by the Sindh High Court last year on Wednesday submitted a report before the court recommending a “complete ban” on all cryptocurrencies in the country, officials with direct knowledge of the document said.
Last year, the Sindh High Court ordered the government to form a high-level committee to review the legal status of cryptocurrencies. The order came as part of a hearing in a petition demanding that the court declare null and void a State Bank of Pakistan order dated April 6, 2018, in which it advised banks and payment system operators to “refrain from processing, using, trading, holding, transferring value, promoting and investing in virtual currencies/tokens.”
An official at the central bank — who declined to be identified as the report submitted before the court has not yet been made public — told Arab News the committee identified several risks related to cryptocurrency and made two recommendations to the bank.
“A complete ban on all cryptocurrencies and other related activities in the country,” the bank recommended in a report seen by Arab News. “Unauthorized operations of crypto exchanges to be banned and penalties be imposed by the federal government.”
A second central bank official also confirmed that the report submitted with the Sindh High Court had recommended a ban on cryptocurrencies.
Among the risks of cryptocurrencies, the committee said regulators had not yet sufficiently addressed the phenomenon of cryptocurrencies or settled on a collective approach on the innovation.
The central bank also has concerns over the trading of cryptocurrency by individuals and entities “as it results in outflow of foreign exchanges from the country.”
Consumer protection and lack of legal resource was another concern, the committee noted, saying it was “highly likely that price volatility [would] expose its holders to huge monetary losses.”
The committee also said there was a risk of enforcement due to multiple jurisdiction: “Cryptocurrencies are borderless and there anonymous and pseudonymous nature increases the difficulty of implementing the regulatory and monitoring tools for regulating entity.”
The committee noted that a number of frauds had been reported recently in cryptocurrency exchanges and the investigation and seizure of the assets in the decentralized system had proved difficult.
The committee’s recommendations come amid a $100 million scandal in Pakistan in which Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies, is believed to have swindled thousands of clients.
Court-mandated committee recommends ‘complete ban’ on cryptocurrency in Pakistan
https://arab.news/n5dsw
Court-mandated committee recommends ‘complete ban’ on cryptocurrency in Pakistan
- Last year, Sindh High Court ordered government to form high-level committee to review legal status of cryptocurrencies
- Committee’s recommendation comes amid scandal in Pakistan in which Binance is believed to be involved in $100 million fraud
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
