A deal signed in Pakistan days before the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and India’s military response to it, Operation Sindoor, has reportedly come under scrutiny both in New Delhi and Washington over links to Donald Trump’s family and Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s involvement.
The deal, between a privately-owned US cryptocurrency firm and Pakistan’s barely month-old Crypto Council, has seen a flurry of activity involving some very high-profile individuals. The firm – World Liberty Financial – is linked to US President Donald Trump’s family.
‘THE TRUMP CONNECTION’
The fintech enterprise, which deals with cryptocurrency and blockchain investment, has a majority stake-holding by President Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Junior, as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who own 60 per cent of the company collectively. In April, the firm signed a Letter of Intent with Pakistan Crypto Council.
According to a report in Times of India, within days of its formation, Pakistan Crypto Council brought Binance founder Changpeng Zhao on board as Adviser to give the newly-formed body greater credibility.
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume. At its launch event early last month, Pakistan Crypto Council said it aims to make Islamabad the “crypto capital of south Asia”.
‘A WELCOME BY PAK ARMY CHIEF ASIM MUNIR’
A high-profile team of top executives traveled from the Washington to Islamabad to sign the deal. It was led by the founder of the firm, Zachary Witkoff, the son of Donald Trump’s longtime business associate and now US’ Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The team was personally welcomed by Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir and a closed-door meeting was held with both Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir being present.
Asim Munir’s direct involvement has raised questions over whether the deal has any significance to Pakistan’s national security, though none is evident yet.
‘THE AGREEMENT’
According to a statement released by Pakistan’s Crypto Council as well as World Liberty Financial, the agreement permits the latter to integrate blockchain technology across Pakistan’s financial institutions. It also gives way for tokenisation of assets, development of various types of stablecoin, and regulatory sandboxes for pilot projects in decentralised finance, it said, adding that the aim of the deal is to enhance “financial inclusion and digital transformation” in Pakistan.
With heightened scrutiny over the deal after the Pahalgam terror attack, World Liberty Financial issued a press note saying the are “no political motives” behind the agreement. President Trump’s family, as well as the White House, have remained silent over the issue so far.
Meanwhile, according to a report by Firstpost, strategic commentators in New Delhi have raised the flag over what they see as an “opaque financial alliance with serious political overtones.”
