ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to give the task of running the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to acting chairman after the formal arrest of incumbent chairman Zafar Hijazi.

Talking to Dawn on Saturday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said his ministry had already sent a summary for the appointment of an acting SECP chief to the Prime Minister Office after getting the opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Refusing to disclose the name of the person to be appointed acting chairman of the SECP, the minister said that “the most senior” person would be given the charge for 120 days as per the rules and laws.

Mr Dar said that under the law the present SECP chairman would have to be suspended before the appointment of his successor.

“Since under the circumstances, he (the SECP chairman) will be unable to perform (his functions), the law says he needs to be suspended and the charge should be handed over to the most senior person,” he said.

Answering a question, he said it was the law ministry which would decide the seniority of officials under the rules of business.

“As soon as we will receive the summary from the PM Office we will notify him [acting chairman] for 120 days as per law,” he added. The minister, however, refuted reports about the appointment of Tahir Mahmood as new acting chairman of the regulatory body, saying that he was a very junior official and his name was not even considered.

The minister expressed the hope that the notification for the appointment of the new SECP chief would be issued on Monday (tomorrow) after receiving formal approval of the prime minister.

The person who will be considered for the slot will be from SECP commissioners on a seniority basis. A commissioner is appointed for a period of three years. He/she can be reappointed for another three years.

Zafar Abdullah is the commissioner overseeing the functions of Specialised Companies Division and Information System and Technology Department. He joined SECP as a commissioner on Aug 17, 2012.

Akif Saeed has been associated with SECP since 2004. However, Mr Saeed was appointed as commissioner in December 2014.

Fida Hussain Samoo has been serving as commissioner at the SECP since Dec 18, 2014.

Tahir Mehmood has been associated with the SECP as a commissioner since September 2010.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2017