KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday expressed resentment over a delay in finalising recommendation about the fate of cryptocurrency and summoned the federal secretaries of finance and law along with their final proposal.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha directed the two secretaries to appear in court on June 13 along with their final recommendation about cryptocurrency after expediting the consultation between the government and relevant stakeholders so the same may be placed before the federal cabinet for a policy decision.

The bench in its order noted that in January, it had directed a committee to send its report to the ministries of finance and law to consider it at a joint meeting and take a final decision whether or not cryptocurrency was allowed in Pakistan.

Also read: Panel formed by Sindh High Court wants ban on cryptocurrency

It had further asked both ministries to file their joint recommendations till April 11 and directed the secretary or additional secretary-finance and law secretary or any other senior officer of the two ministries well conversant with cryptocurrency to appear in person on the next hearing.

On Monday, the bench said that it has received the interim report of the law and finance secretaries that showed that there was hardly any progress in over three months to make recommendation in the light of the last court order.

“It appears that both the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Law are taking this matter in very lax manner and at the rate they are going, will not come up with any recommendation for years,” the bench observed in its order.

On Jan 12, a committee in its report had recommended a complete ban on cryptocurrency and other related activities in the country, adding that after a careful risk benefit analysis, it emerged that the risks of cryptocurrency outweigh its benefits for Pakistan.

In October last year, the bench had constituted a committee headed by Deputy Governor Seema Kamil of the State Bank of Pakistan with representatives of finance division, ministry of information technology, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, director general of the financial monitoring unit and petitioner Waqar Zaka as its members.

The committee was asked to consider whether any form of cryptocurrency is to be permissible in Pakistan keeping in view of Article 18 of the Constitution.

The petitioner had stated that cryptocurrency was based on decentralised digital money and regulating facilities were available and recognised.

On the claim of the petitioner that there were many unregulated institutions in the country carrying out cryptocurrency business in an illegal manner, the bench at an earlier hearing had observed that if this was the case, it can cause danger of money laundering and terror financing and other criminal activities.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2022