SablePay CEO and Founder Shahzad Khan participated in the United Nations Digital Cooperation Day 2026 during the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week in New York, where policymakers, regulators and technology industry representatives discussed the role of blockchain and tokenization in future digital infrastructure. Khan shared details of his participation in a LinkedIn post, stating that he joined the session at the invitation of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) and its Chairman, Bilal Bin Saqib, who is also Pakistan’s Minister of State. The event took place on September 21 and was organized by the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET), in collaboration with Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and PVARA. The session, titled “Blockchain and the Tokenized Future: Sovereign Choices and Safeguards for Next-Gen DPI,” examined how tokenization is moving beyond digital currencies and into areas such as securities, commodities and other assets. The United Nations said the discussion focused on real-world applications, country readiness and safeguards required for the use of tokenization in digital public infrastructure.
The session brought together representatives from governments, regulatory bodies and the private sector to examine issues including digital assets, financial integrity, sovereignty, responsible innovation and next-generation digital public infrastructure. According to Khan, the discussions were relevant to SablePay’s work around connecting stablecoins and digital assets with existing financial infrastructure and real-world commerce. SablePay describes itself as a company working across stablecoins, agentic commerce and payments. The broader UN session included Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib, Circle co-founder Jeremy Allaire, Paystand CEO Jeremy Almond and YZi Labs Managing Partner Ella Zhang, alongside representatives from several governments and international organizations. The composition of the panel reflected the discussion’s focus on the intersection of public policy, financial infrastructure and emerging digital technologies. The UN also positioned the session around questions of how tokenized systems could be incorporated into public infrastructure while maintaining appropriate safeguards.
Pakistan’s virtual-assets framework was also part of the wider discussion around digital financial infrastructure. During the session, PVARA Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib said Pakistan had moved from a restrictive environment toward a dedicated regulatory framework and licensing regime for virtual assets. In remarks shared by PVARA, he discussed potential applications for tokenization in areas including remittances, sovereign debt, SME and private credit, and real estate. He also referred to the potential use of stablecoins for faster settlement and lower remittance costs. Separately, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said during his opening remarks that tokenization should address practical economic needs, including cheaper remittances, SME financing, sovereign debt and broader financial access. He also emphasized the role of safeguards, inclusive digital infrastructure and international cooperation in supporting private-sector innovation.
Khan’s participation also connected the policy discussion to the payments and commerce applications being explored by private-sector companies. In his LinkedIn post, he said the discussions covered tokenization, digital assets, next-generation digital public infrastructure, sovereignty, financial integrity and responsible innovation, areas that intersect with SablePay’s focus on stablecoins and digital commerce. The UN’s Digital Cooperation Day agenda similarly highlighted the need to consider safeguards as tokenization expands beyond cryptocurrencies into assets such as land, securities and commodities. The discussions indicate that blockchain and tokenization are increasingly being examined not only as financial-market technologies but also in relation to payments, public infrastructure and cross-border financial systems. For Pakistan, the participation of PVARA and senior government representatives places the country’s developing virtual-assets framework within a broader international conversation about regulation, digital infrastructure and the potential applications of tokenized financial systems.
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