RECENTLY the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) started investigation against bankers internal trading that happened many years ago.

Looking at this positive step by the SECP, I would also ask it to investigate shares offered by a cellular company through IPO in 2014 in which it allegedly cheated the Pakistani public out of cash.

The company offered its shares through IPO conducted through a bank, which is a sister company, in 2014. The shares were sold for Rs10 but the bank had evaluated and advertised their value to be Rs20 per share. But after a few months, the cellular company decided to forcefully buy back all their shares from the public at 60 pc less value.

The customers had no option but to sell back their shares to it at very low rates. The SECP or the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) did not investigate this illegality and instead the cellular company, which ironically was owned by a UAE-based organisation, was able to cheat the public out of billions.

I request the SECP and the SBP to investigate the issue.

Shahryar Khan Baseer

Peshawar

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2017