Key inquiries into SECP chief stay sealed from public view.
Tariq Khattak
ISLAMABAD (Nov 30, 2025)
The federal government is set to decide on the reappointments of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) top tier, Chairman Akif Saeed and Commissioners Abdul Rehman Warraich and Mujtaba Ahmad Lodhi, whose three-year terms conclude on December 13. The potential move has sparked widespread concern among the business community as the leadership remains embroiled in a scandal over severe, unresolved financial irregularities, sources informed.
The controversy stems from an audit by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), which unveiled unauthorized and backdated pay hikes granted to the SECP’s senior officials. The AGP’s report found that the Policy Board sanctioned salary increases for the top management without the mandatory prior approval from the Finance Division.
The retroactive increases resulted in Chairman Akif Saeed receiving an irregular annual package of Rs41.53 million for the fiscal year 2023-24, while each commissioner was awarded Rs35.8 million. Compounding the self-serving decision, the audit also exposed the illegal distribution of Rs110 million in entertainment allowances to commissioners and staff.
Crucially, the audit found the SECP violated the Public Finance Management Act, 2019, by failing to transfer nearly Rs14 billion, a substantial surplus of the regulator’s revenues from licensing, registration, and the capital market, to the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF).
The revelations spurred immediate high-level directives. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb ordered an internal inquiry and directed the immediate withdrawal of all perks and benefits from the Chairman and Commissioners until the investigation is complete.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a special, high-powered committee, initially headed by Rana Sanaullah, to assess the legality and propriety of the salary increases and recommend measures to strengthen oversight of all regulatory bodies. The committee was given a strict two-week deadline to submit its findings.
However, despite these official probes and strict deadlines, the government has yet to make the findings or recommendations of the inquiry committee public.
This lack of transparency is a major point of contention. The business community has expressed strong reservations about reappointing the incumbents while the serious financial and legal questions raised by the AGP remain officially unresolved. Lawmakers in parliamentary committees have pointed to a “conflict of interest” in the SECP law, which allows the board to set its own salaries, calling for the power to be transferred back to the federal government.
With the term expiry date fast approaching, stakeholders are pressing the government to disclose the inquiry results and make a decision based on merit to safeguard the credibility of the financial market regulator.
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