TECH EXPO
Walking through GITEX Global in Dubai felt like stepping into the future on fast-forward. Flying taxis and cargo drones are no longer mock-ups; the UAE is already mapping aerial corridors for commercial launches. Passenger e-VTOLs are being test-flown over Dubai, and Gulf investors are lining up to place their orders.
Amid this spectacle, Pakistan was visible. Our pavilion, backed by the Ministry of IT and Telecom, was bustling with activity, drawing steady attention throughout the expo. From digital services to generative-AI platforms, the startups on display weren’t “catching up” to the world; they were competing head-to-head. Many were smarter, faster and more affordable than international rivals. It was a reminder that Pakistani talent is agile and abundant, and that our cost advantage is real.
But a few halls away, the silence was deafening. In the blockchain section, Pakistan had no stall, no branding, no presence. Global providers told me the same thing when I asked why: ‘we’re not sure if it’s legal there’. That absence spoke volumes. This is not just a marketing gap. It is an economic loss. Because our policymakers have failed to distinguish clearly between cryptocurrency speculation and enterprise blockchain, outsiders assume both are off-limits. And in technology markets, perception quickly becomes reality.
The newly enacted Virtual Assets Ordinance, 2025 was progress. It established the PVARA as a regulator to license exchanges and supervise anti-money-laundering compliance. But global markets have already moved beyond token trading. The real frontier is blockchain as infrastructure: tamper-proof land registries, tokenised energy credits, digital identity wallets, supply-chain traceability and audit trails for AI. Our law shores up speculative trading platforms but says nothing about these use cases. In that silence, investors and innovators assume prohibition.
The cost of delay is measurable. Global blockchain startups raised $11.5 billion in venture capital in 2024. Pakistan’s entire startup ecosystem raised just $22.5 million, and not a single widely reported blockchain round appeared on local trackers. Every proof-of-concept we fail to launch here is jobs, intellectual property, and tax revenue exported abroad.
The missed opportunities are obvious: our agriculture sector loses billions every year to pilferage and counterfeit supply chains; blockchain traceability could reduce those losses dramatically. Land disputes overwhelm our courts because registries can be duplicated or altered; a tamper-proof ledger could prevent double-selling.
The government must issue formal guidance separating blockchain pilots from retail crypto speculation. Regulators should launch sector-specific sandboxes so innovators can test use cases under supervision
Solar microgrids in Sindh and Punjab could tokenise every kilowatt-hour to build community energy markets where no unit is ‘sold twice’. Patient records scattered across hospitals could be secured in digital health IDs, accessible only with consent. These are not theoretical pilots. They are practical fixes for some of Pakistan’s most expensive bottlenecks.
Meanwhile, other countries are moving. The UAE has opened blockchain sandboxes for energy and trade. India has announced pilots in land registries and logistics. Africa is tokenising cross-border power projects. While they attract capital and talent, Pakistan hesitates.
Individual crypto trading indeed remains restricted until exchanges are licensed. But nothing in Pakistani law prohibits blockchain applications for ownership, record-keeping, or supply-chain management. These are exactly the kinds of systems our economy needs. The problem is that outsiders (and too often our own officials) treat ‘blockchain’ and ‘crypto speculation’ as interchangeable. Without an explicit policy signal, perception hardens into reality.
The way forward is not complicated. The government must issue formal guidance separating blockchain pilots from retail crypto speculation. Regulators should launch sector-specific sandboxes so innovators can test use cases under supervision. Procurement rules need ‘innovation annexes’ so ministries and SOEs can adopt pilots without years of delay.
We must create an ‘innovator licence’ for pre-revenue blockchain startups, offer targeted incentives and open fast-track visas for diaspora and foreign talent. And we must brand Pakistan’s intent at global forums, because absence is read as prohibition.
The urgency is real. Every year of hesitation costs us jobs that go to Dubai and Singapore, investment that flows to Europe and Africa and billions in efficiency gains we forfeit at home. Our gap is not in talent or capacity; it is in clarity. We have the youth, the engineers, the cost advantage and the grit. But advantages mean nothing if left unused.
The writer is an Islamabad-based lawyer and Strategic Legal Counsel at HP | FKM-Hafeez Pirzada | Farooq, Khan & Mirza. She is a graduate of King’s College London and can be reached at: mariam12saleemgmail.com