'No law allows to remove SECP chief without due process'

Dr Tariq Hassan, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), has said that the SECP Act. 1997, or for the matter any other law, does not allow the Federal Government to remove the chairman of the Commission, particularly without following due process.
According to a copy of a letter sent to the Policy Board of the SECP, the former chairman said, "There is no honour in being removed even if the removal is illegal and improper". He said that irreparable damage, already done in arbitrarily removing the head of Pakistan's most import and autonomous regulatory agency, would not be in the interest of the institution.
"I made every effort to preserve the integrity and independence of the Commission and to work for the protection of ordinary investors, and have successfully carried out my regulatory mandate and fulfil all commitments to the National Assembly and Senate Standing Committee on Revenue and Economic Affairs and Statistics.
"To ensure total accountability, Task Force, headed by Justice (retd) Salim Akhtar was established by the Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the weakness of the stock market and its regulations, including by the Commission itself. Benefiting from the report of the Task Force, the Commission took action against nearly a hundred stockbrokers for various market abuses.
"Additionally, the Commission recently initiated a forensic audit in the badla financiers to determine their responsibility for the March 2005 stock market situation. A regulatory audit of the Stock Exchange was also underway to ensure the proper performance of their self-regulatory functions.
"In order to enhance investor protection, the Commission was in the process of establishing an electronic monitoring and surveillance system, particularly in view of the failure of the stock exchanges in this regard. And, to ensure that the market operations in Pakistan are fair, efficient and transparent, the Commission had eliminated Group Accounts and was in the process of introducing an universal identification system for brokers and investors.
"I set out to introduce transparency, and fairness, particularly for the common and small investors, on the fears of our trading homes. It was inevitable that this would clash with the entrenched and vested interests of the brokers and other market players", he said. "There is a price one has to pay for the forging hold, innovative and admittedly unpopular reforms. A lot of negative publicity, much of it inspired, however did not discourage me from carrying out my duties steadfastly and trail blazing in other important areas under the Commission's mandate.
"The Commission was also handicapped because it had been operating without requisite number of commissioners from time to time and without the provision of an adequate legal infrastructure."
On operational front, the past chairman said that the completion of the medium-term plan and strategy for the development of the corporate, non-banking financial and professional institutions was based on consultations with representatives of the stakeholders. "This is the first integrated road map drawn indigenously for the future development of our corporate, non-banking financial and professional services sectors."