It was one of last year’s biggest diplomatic mysteries. Why did US President Donald Trump invite Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch at the White House and hail him as “my favourite general”? Was it only because Pakistan had lavishly praised Trump and declared he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, or were there other factors at play in that diplomatic reset?
What’s clear is Pakistan hasn’t looked back since that White House lunch. It’s now startled the world by emerging as the key intermediary between Iran and the US. When the first round of talks fell through, Pakistan’s top leaders worked the phones and criss-crossed the Gulf in their military jets. Munir kept up communications with Washington and spent three days in Iran. India may have scoffed initially, but few would have predicted US Vice President JD Vance would travel to Islamabad for talks, underlining Pakistan’s unexpected role as a facilitator.
Another figure who has been keeping a lower profile helps illustrate a different dimension of this evolving relationship. Bilal bin Saqib is Pakistan’s crypto czar. Formerly the prime minister’s special crypto and blockchain assistant and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, he’s been closely linked with efforts to formalise the sector. Significantly, the State Bank of Pakistan has now allowed banks to open accounts for crypto firms registered with the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA), signalling regulatory acceptance.
These developments dovetail with an earlier visit that attracted limited attention. In January, Zach Witkoff, CEO of World Liberty Financial, travelled to Pakistan and met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Munir. The visit resulted in a non-binding letter of intent to explore the use of stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency, for remittances and to develop a digital payments system.
Why is Zach Witkoff’s visit important? Witkoff is the son of Steve Witkoff, one of Trump’s key negotiators. World Liberty Financial is also majority-owned by the Trump family.
Saqib has been doing the rounds in the US, particularly in Washington, for over a year. He secured a meeting with Trump’s top crypto advisor, Bo Hines, last June and participated in a major Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas. Among the prominent attendees were Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy, who briefly ran for president in 2024.
During his US travels, Saqib is understood to have met Zach Witkoff and convinced him Pakistan offered significant growth prospects. On a later New York visit, he also met Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick, who, importantly, is son of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. These links point to a broader effort to position Pakistan within global financial networks.
Trump-linked venture
It’s also important to note that World Liberty Financial is embedded in a network of billionaires and large global funds. For a Trump-linked venture like World Liberty Financial, Pakistan offers the possibility of first-mover advantage in payments, exchanges and digital finance infrastructure. Shortly before Trump’s White House entry, it sold around half its equity for $500 million to a group that included an Abu Dhabi prince. This sparked controversy because, soon afterwards, the UAE clinched a US agreement for access to advanced AI chips. Still, despite its influential backers, the company has had a difficult year, with valuations falling, mirroring a slump in crypto values.
Some analysts predict Pakistan may now move beyond its traditionally Indo-centric strategic outlook and focus more on the Gulf region. Pakistan is building closer ties with Gulf investors, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where Trump-family ventures already have deep ties. Pakistani analysts argue the country has already gained new clout and will enjoy a higher standing in global affairs. As analyst Muhammad Amir Rana puts it: “Pakistan has found a sense of relevance in the regional and global political order that it has long been seeking.” Saqib is clearly not the only reason for improved relations between Pakistan and the US. Ever since the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan has perfected the game of giving to the Americans with one hand even as they cause trouble with the other. With Pakistani assistance, the US was able to capture Mohammad Sharifullah, accused of involvement in the Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 US servicemen during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Taken together, these diplomatic, financial and security threads suggest Pakistan’s re-emergence on the global stage is not the result of a single initiative, but of a convergence of interests in which Islamabad has smartly aligned itself with Washington’s shifting priorities. Whether that position would endure beyond the Trump era is another question.
Pakistan is building closer ties with Gulf investors, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where Trump-family ventures already have deep ties
Published on April 22, 2026