Senate committee proposes key changes to Virtual Assets Bill

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday recommended that members and staff of the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) be barred from trading in virtual assets. The committee also suggested placing the authority under the Finance Division rather than the Cabinet Division. During discussions on the government’s Virtual Assets Bill 2025, PMLN Senator Afnanullah Khan accused the Secretary of Law of plagiarism. He claimed that he had originally tabled the bill, which was later “copy-pasted” by the Ministry of Law and introduced as the government’s version. “This is shameful,” he said, adding that the government’s draft was identical to the one he had proposed, which had been opposed by the government earlier.