Khalid Mirza, Member, Securities and Exchange Policy Board (SEPB, the "Policy Board") Friday conveyed to the Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that the SECP Policy Board cannot make any staff appointments whatsoever, and therefore, the question of illegal appointments simply does not arise.
In a letter to the chairman NAB, Khalid Mirza, who worked as chairman SECP Policy Board, stated that it should be unequivocally understood that under the law the Policy Board is entrusted with certain responsibilities and functionalities but it does not have any executive authority or role of any kind.
Also, other than the fact that the chairman presides over the SEPB meetings, he does not have any special role or capacity with respect to the Policy Board's decision making, and at best he can be simply regarded as first among equals.
Needless to say, no Policy Board member, including the chairman, can take any decision on his own and all Policy Board decisions are taken collectively by the members in formal meetings convened for this purpose.
It must be further emphasised that, a Policy Board member is not an "office holder" as such, nor does being a member of the SEPB mean or be tantamount to even part-time employment.
Members are only required to attend SEPB meetings or its committees without any official role outside these meetings, he said.
Mirza pointed out that the NAB had called for progress reports from the concerned senior NAB officials regarding three inquiries ordered by the chairman NAB.
These included an inquiry you had instructed director general, NAB, Rawalpindi to carry out primarily with respect to illegal appointments allegedly made by me in my capacity as chairman, SEPB and other sundry matters i.e. interference in the affairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SECP", the "Commission"), attempting to influence the NAB investigations through media interaction, and criticism of the NAB in connection with the SECP's staffing issues, Khalid Mirza said.
Member SECP Policy Board stated that the Policy Board cannot make any staff appointments whatsoever.
Secretarial as well as expert assistance, if any, required by the board, is provided and paid for by the commission in accordance with the law.
The fact of the matter is that the Policy Board or a board member, including the chairman, does not have the privilege or power to make appointments.
Therefore, the question of illegal appointments simply does not arise.
Without the authority to make appointments, abuse or misuse in the matter of making appointments is really not possible, and the underlying basis for the investigation just does not exist.
Third, by merely stating the fact that the SECP staff had stopped working for fear of arrest cannot be regarded as interference in the affairs of SECP.
At the same it must be recognised that the SECP Act has entrusted the Policy Board with the duty of oversight over the commission's performance so that the purposes of the Act are achieved. Also, the Policy Board seeks to operate in a transparent, truthful and overboard manner any comment by the Policy Board or its chairman or a member, whether in public or private, on the commission's performance has to be viewed in this light, Khalid Mirza said.
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