Munir Gets Immunity Through Trump-Linked Crypto Pact

Pakistan is now too financially entangled with a US President to be treated as a rogue actor without triggering blow-back in Washington's highest office. That is the ultimate insurance policy.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

On 14 March 2025, the Government of Pakistan launched the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), an entity created ostensibly to regulate and promote the country's digital asset infrastructure.

The PCC was established directly under the Ministry of Finance, with Bilal Bin Saqib, a UK-based entrepreneur and social media personality with limited background in formal financial regulation, appointed as its founding CEO.

Within weeks, he was also named Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Blockchain and Crypto, and accorded a Minister of State status.

Just over a month later, between 26 and 27 April 2025, the PCC signed a Letter of Intent with World Liberty Financial (WLF), a Delaware-based crypto firm, majority-controlled by the Trump family.

This agreement proposed sweeping collaboration on blockchain infrastructure, the use of WLF's stablecoin (USD1) in Pakistan's financial system, tokenization of national assets, and establishment of a national DeFi sandbox.

A national DeFi sandbox is a government-led initiative that provides a controlled, supervised environment where decentralized finance (DeFi) projects can test real-world financial applications with relaxed regulatory constraints—while still ensuring oversight and consumer protection.

At the time of signing, the PCC had no parliamentary backing, no regulatory authority under Pakistani law, and crypto remained illegal as per State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) directives.

Yet WLF's delegation, including co-founders Zachary Folkman and Zachary Witkoff, was granted access to Pakistan's highest officeholders—Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad, SECP Chairman Akif Saeed, and most notably, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.

General Munir's presence in this entire deal is especially significant. The Army has no formal jurisdiction over Pakistan's financial technology policy.