Govt to Appoint New CCP Chairman Soon

The government will soon announce the appointment of the new Chairman of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) as the tenure of Rahat Kaunain Hassan ended on 14th July. Presently, the CCP is working without any chairperson. However, the federal cabinet has appointed four members of the CCP by approving a summary through circulation. Rahat Kaunain Hassan has left the commission after the completion of her tenure of three years. According to a notification issued by the Finance Division on Monday, the federal government has appointed the following persons as members of the CCP for a term of three years with immediate effect: Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu, Salman Ameen, Caption (retd) Saeed Ahmed Nawaz and Abdul Rasheed Sheikh. Sources stated that the new chairperson is likely to be picked from the said four members of the CCP. Earlier, the Ministry of Finance had advertised four vacant positions of members of the CCP. In accordance with the law, the Commission is mandated to comprise 5-7 members, albeit in practice, five members are typically appointed. Currently, the Commission is operating with only one member, who also serves as the chairperson. The addition of four members will ensure that the Commission is fully constituted and functioning optimally. After advertising three vacant positions of the Members of the CCP in December 2022, the Ministry of Finance has announced a job opening for the position of the 4th Member. Out of the three advertised positions in December 2022, two had fallen vacant in March 2022 with the term completion of Shaista Bano and Bushra Naz Malik while the third one was an old vacant position. The fourth position fell vacant with the appointment of Mujtaba Ahmed Lodhi as SECP Commissioner in December 2022. The CCP is entrusted with the crucial responsibility to promote competition and correct anti-competitive behavior. In line with its mandate under the Competition Act, of 2010, the CCP has persevered in its efforts to enforce penalties against vested interests and cartels, despite their attempts to delay enforcement through court-issued stay orders. Over the past two years, the CCP has taken record enforcement actions, concluding over 37 inquiries, initiating over 38 new ones, and issuing 15 orders against 134 undertakings, resulting in total penalties of approximately Rs. 45 billion.