• Approved within minutes, bill paves way for regulatory authority to supervise crypto assets
• MNAs denounce Khamenei’s killing, express fear Pakistan ‘might be next’

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday intelligently used the provisions in the rules to approve an important bill within minutes in the National Assembly before Speaker Ayaz Sadiq ope­ned the floor for a general debate on the Middle East crisis following the US-Israel attacks on Iran.

At the outset, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry requested the speaker to suspend the private member’s day agenda to allow a debate on the security situation arising out of the attack on Iran.

As the house approved the deferment of the 98-point agenda, the minister took the floor again to move another motion, seeking to suspend the rule regarding the private member’s day provisions to allow the introduction and passage of the Virtual Assets Bill 2026 through a supplementary agenda.

After approval of the motion, amid some voices of “no, no”, the speaker allowed the minister to present the bill on behalf of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. Under the assembly rules, Tuesday has been allocated as a private member’s day, allowing the members to introduce legislation and other agenda items in their individual capacity.

The minister explained that the bill had already been passed by the Senate and it had been thoroughly discussed in the parliamentary committee.

The approval of the bill paves the way for the establishment of a dedicated regulatory authority to license, regulate and supervise virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, across the country. The bill was approved within minutes through a voice vote.

Iran debate

Later, the house formally began a debate on the Middle East crisis, with the members condemning the US-Israel action on Iran and paying tributes to the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The members of the lower house termed Ayatollah Khamenei the “martyr of the Muslim ummah”, and severely criticised the American policies.

The members expressed concerns over the growing India-Israel nexus and the US backing of all actions by Israel, fearing that these belligerent nations would target Pakistan after causing severe damage to Iran.

Fiery speeches were made by PPP leaders Syeda Shehla Raza and Abdul Qadir Patel. Ms Raza spoke politely but emotionally. She said that regime change in Iran will not happen and that it was a war against Muslim nations by Israel. She said the Muslim nations were being targeted one by one. “Death will come to everyone but we should remain steadfast on principles,” an emotional Raza said.

Abdul Qadir Patel, in a harsh tone, slammed the leadership of Pakistan, asking PM Shahbaz to come out with a policy decision instead of a policy statement. “What are we doing for Gaza, Kashmir and in this war against Iran, the fire is coming towards Pakistan as well, but what is our leadership doing?” he asked.

Other MNAs called the late Ayatollah the “greatest leader of Muslim ummah”, and paid rich tributes to him, while criticising the US and Israel as deceptive and tyrannical.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that the attack by Israel on Iran was a violation of international law, and referred to the statement by the Omani foreign minister that the matter was settled and Iran had agreed to contain its nuclear programme when Israel launched the unprovoked strikes, killing school children and their civilian leadership.

At the same time, PTI members criticised PM Shehbaz for his earlier stance nominating President Trump for the Nobel Prize.

Aasia Ishaq of MQM claimed that Afghanistan was working at the behest of India. “We should not stop as long as the leadership of the Taliban mends their ways; they are openly asking for help from Israel and India against Pakistan.” MNAs Aniqa Mehdi, Hameed Hussain and others also spoke.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026