ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Despite a volatile situation in stock markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has not been able to hold any meeting to discuss the situation because attendance at almost all government and private offices has remained extremely thin in the first three days of the week.
The sit-in staged by Dr Tahirul Qadri in Islamabad has badly hit, if not paralysed, the routine working of almost all business regulators and ministries in the federal capital.
Businesses across the country, especially those of the corporate sector, have suffered badly due to the direct or indirect effects of Dr Qadri’s sit-in in Islamabad.
Due to the extraordinary security measures taken by the government in the wake of the massive sit-in on Jinnah Avenue, the movement of government employees and people in general has been largely affected.
“The situation is serious as there has been an impact on the… bourses also and investors are on hold,” a senior official of the SECP said, adding: “The uncertainty is hitting investors’ confidence because the country has a history of uncertainty and there are precedents of a sudden change in the system of the government.”
The Securities Market Division of the SECP is involved in daily monitoring of stock activities and officials fear that in the absence of activities in the SECP head office, violators could take advantage of the uncertainty.
“There are two problems: investors are not investing and monitoring the situation and there is a threat of some elements taking an undue advantage of markets’ volatility because they do not see a supervisory body now,” the official said.
In addition to the Securities Market Division of the SECP, all meetings at the corporate sector regulator have been suspended which include hearing, issues relating to licences and enforcement actions.
The situation has been the same with other regulators, because either their head offices are situated in the Blue Area or in the Red Zone.
The Blue Area, the business district of Islamabad, is situated on both sides of the Jinnah Avenue, and it hosts the head office of Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). Access to the area is very difficult because participants of the sit-in have set up their tents in and around the Jinnah Avenue.
Most of the federal ministries and offices of other organisations, including the Nepra and FBR, are facing the same situation.
The Constitution Avenue is the main road facing all key administrative offices on both sides, including the Supreme Court, Parliament, FBR, the PM’s Secretariat and federal secretariat blocks.
Federal ministries continued to present a deserted look on Wednesday as most civil servants failed to reach their offices.
Although several officers managed to reach their offices, the lower staff, especially those coming from Rawalpindi, could not come, creating functional difficulties.