The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and the Higher Education Commission have discussed plans to involve Pakistani universities in building skills and research capacity around virtual assets, blockchain and tokenisation.
PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib met HEC Chairman Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar to explore what the regulator described as a national capacity-building agenda for the emerging sector.
According to PVARA, the discussion focused on engaging leading universities in curriculum development, research, regulatory awareness and industry-linked training.
The proposed areas of cooperation are intended to help develop talent for technologies and financial infrastructure linked to virtual assets and blockchain. PVARA did not announce specific universities, courses or academic programmes as part of the meeting.
The talks come shortly after HEC told the National Assembly that it had not yet received policy direction from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication for a coordinated digital-asset education programme with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission. No dedicated HEC-NAVTTC programme had been launched at the time, although universities could introduce relevant programmes and interdisciplinary courses through existing HEC curriculum and approval mechanisms.
That earlier parliamentary response underlines how preliminary the latest PVARA-HEC discussions remain.
HEC has separately been placing greater emphasis on technology skills and aligning university education with changing industry requirements. In July, the commission held a national workshop on computing education and future skills covering curriculum development, artificial intelligence, industry readiness and the digital economy.
HEC has also made a three-credit-hour artificial intelligence course mandatory for undergraduate programmes as part of broader efforts to increase students’ exposure to emerging technologies.
The meeting with HEC adds an education and workforce-development component to PVARA’s broader work as Pakistan’s dedicated regulator for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers.
Pakistan established a formal regulatory framework for the sector under the Virtual Assets Act, 2026. PVARA is responsible for licensing, supervising and regulating virtual asset activities and service providers operating in the country.
The authority has also been engaging government institutions and foreign regulators on areas including blockchain infrastructure, tokenisation, stablecoins and digital finance.
PVARA’s latest meeting with HEC remains at the discussion stage. Its public statement did not identify a timetable for introducing university programmes, name participating institutions, or indicate that any blockchain or virtual-asset curriculum has been formally approved.
The authority also did not announce a formal agreement or memorandum of understanding between PVARA and HEC.
From a regulatory perspective, academia can play a major role in creating the next generation of blockchain and virtual-asset professionals. Legal education should go beyond theory and cover licensing, consumer protection, regulatory risk, cyber issues and financial crime compliance. A coordinated PVARA–HEC framework could provide a strong foundation for responsible innovation.