ISLAMABAD: Senator Afnan Ullah expressed his frustration and criticized the administration for delaying the presentation of his Virtual Assets Bill 2025 in a statement issued on Monday.
He expressed his frustration during today’s hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on IT & Telecom, saying, “I spent months drafting this bill, and now I’m barred from presenting it.”.
He claimed that the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT) was sabotaging private member projects and ignoring his efforts. On this matter, he promised to file a privilege motion.
On Monday, the bill was initially halted during an Upper House Session. The Virtual Assets Bill 2025 aims to establish rules for virtual asset issuance, usage, trade, and utilization in Pakistan, as well as for the launch of the Digital Rupee supported by the PKR, among other things.
At the same time, the committee deliberated on the matter of the Personal Data Protection Bill, which has been postponed for far too long. Officials from the Ministry of Information Technology have confirmed that discussions with interested parties are ongoing.
The federal cabinet gave its approval to the bill in 2022, and now it will be re-approved in principle, according to Member Legal (MoITT).
A public hearing regarding the Personal Data Protection Bill was scheduled by the committee. To speed up the process, it was also suggested that the government’s bill and Senator Afnan Ullah’s be combined.
During the session, Senator Afnanullah criticized the Ministry of IT for not taking its job seriously. He said that his personal data had been stolen and he questioned the Ministry for passing its responsibilities to others.