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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Bilal bin Saqib as his special assistant on blockchain and cryptocurrency, Sharif’s office announced on Monday, as Islamabad eyes a shift to digital economy.

The move positions Pakistan among a handful of nations, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates and El Salvador, which have dedicated blockchain and cryptocurrency leadership.

It signals Islamabad’s intent to transform the country into a global leader in digital innovation through encouragement of crypto mining and other similar measures.

“The prime minister... has been pleased to appoint Mr. Bilal bin Saquib as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Blockchain and Crypto with the status of Minister of State, with immediate effect,” Sharif office said in a notification on Monday.

The appointment of Saquib, who also serves as the chief executive officer of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) and chief adviser to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, comes a day after Pakistan allocated 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to power bitcoin mining and Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers in the first phase of a national initiative.

The initiative is spearheaded by the PCC as part of a broader strategy to monetize surplus electricity, create high-tech jobs, attract billions of dollars in foreign direct investment.

Pakistan’s combination of surplus power, geographic advantage, advanced subsea cable connectivity, renewable energy potential, and a large, digitally engaged population creates a compelling case for becoming a regional epicenter of Web3, AI, and digital innovation.

“This strategic allocation marks a pivotal moment in Pakistan’s digital transformation journey, unlocking economic potential by turning excess energy into innovation, investment, and international revenue,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Sunday.

Saquib emphasized the transformative nature of the initiative and said Pakistan could become a global crypto and AI powerhouse with proper regulation, transparency, and international collaboration.

“This energy-backed digital transformation not only unlocks high-value investment but enables the government to generate foreign exchange in USD through bitcoin mining,” he said on Sunday.

Pakistan introduced in April its first-ever policy framework to regulate virtual assets and service providers, aligning with compliance and financial integrity guidelines of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The move followed the establishment of the PCC in March to create a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in a bid to lure international investment.

Establishing local AI data centers will not only address growing concerns around data sovereignty but will also enhance cybersecurity, improve digital service delivery, and empower national capabilities in AI and cloud infrastructure. These centers are expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, catalyzing the development of a skilled workforce in engineering, IT, and data sciences.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday kicked off a third nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of this year that aims to inoculate more than 45 million children under the age of five.

Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children are essential to ensure strong immunity against the disease.

Pakistan has confirmed 10 cases so far this year, according to the polio program. Environmental surveillance has detected the virus in 272 sewage samples from 127 testing sites, across 68 districts, signaling continued circulation.

Inaugurating the campaign at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in Islamabad, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said community engagement was inevitable in eliminating the virus from Pakistan, urging parents to immunize all children under the age of five years.

“Protect your children from permanent disability by vaccinating them,” Kamal said, describing frontline anti-polio workers as the “real heroes.”

“Full-fledged community engagement is essential for the eradication of polio.”

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

Pakistan’s polio program on Sunday described the weeklong campaign as a critical intervention in the country’s “final push” to interrupt poliovirus transmission and achieve eradication by end of 2025.

Around 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 women vaccinators, are taking part in the current campaign and will go door-to-door to inoculate children.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.

Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks.