The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has yet to receive policy direction from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication for developing specialized courses in digital asset management, leaving a proposed coordination program with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission pending.
The issue was raised in the National Assembly by Dr. Sharmila Faruqui in a question concerning Pakistan’s emerging regulatory framework for virtual assets.
The IT Ministry told the National Assembly that the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has been established as a separate statutory authority under the Virtual Assets Act, 2026.
PVARA is responsible for regulating virtual asset service providers, promoting responsible innovation, protecting consumers and ensuring compliance with legal, financial, anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing requirements.
The Virtual Assets Act, 2026 also provides for a regulatory sandbox allowing eligible blockchain and virtual asset businesses to test products, services and business models in a controlled environment under PVARA’s supervision.
PVARA has published guidelines for the sandbox and has started a sandbox focused on asset reference tokenization. Applications are currently being received and evaluated, according to the government’s response.
The government also informed the National Assembly that PVARA has developed the Pakistan Virtual Assets Services Regulations for the regulation and supervision of virtual asset service providers. The draft regulations and Virtual Asset Activity Specific Handbook were published for public consultation on June 11, 2026, while final approval and implementation arrangements are underway.
On education and skills development, HEC said no dedicated collaborative program with NAVTTC has been initiated for digital asset management. It said the commission has not received policy direction from MoITT to develop a coordinated HEC and NAVTTC program.
Universities can, however, introduce programs, specializations and interdisciplinary courses covering emerging technologies through existing HEC curriculum and approval mechanisms.
The government has therefore established the regulatory structure for virtual assets, but specialized education and workforce training remain pending further policy direction from the IT Ministry.
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