The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan’s premier investigation agency has proposed Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block over 1,600 cryptocurrency websites. Pakistan’s central bank has already recommended a total ban on crypto. However, the country’s science minister has indicated that the country is planning to regularise cryptocurrency in Pakistan.
According to Samaa TV, the FIA Director Babur Bakht Qureshi has written to the PTA requesting to prohibit access to over 1600 cryptocurrency trading websites. He argues that crypto is being used to launder money.
Furthermore, Qureshi said that a database of individuals engaged in the cryptocurrency trade is being drafted. According to reports, such individuals will be jailed after a complete ban on crypto in Pakistan.
Qureshi also stated that those who promote cryptocurrency in Pakistan will face legal consequences. “These persons are on the radar of the agency, and action would be taken upon these individuals shortly,” the director was reported as saying.
A rising number of nations, including the United Kingdom, Singapore, and India, are going to crack down on crypto marketing.
Shibli Faraz, Pakistan’s minister for science and technology, stated Monday at the country’s inaugural blockchain summit co-hosted by his ministry that the government is planning to “regularise” cryptocurrencies in the country.
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The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on the other hand, has already decided to completely restrict cryptocurrencies. The central bank presented a report to the Sindh High Court last week urging a blanket ban on cryptocurrency.