The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP)’s recent report highlighting Rs 267 million in irregular pay and allowances at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) came under discussion at the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Monday.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, reviewed both the Consolidated Audit Report 2024–25 and the SECP’s response. The AGP had pointed out that SECP granted unauthorised salary increases and withheld nearly Rs 14 billion from the Federal Consolidated Fund, treating these actions as violations of the Public Finance Management Act.
The SECP, however, defended its position, insisting that all pay revisions and financial decisions were undertaken under the legal mandate of the SECP Policy Board and in accordance with the SECP Act, 1997. The regulator further argued that similar objections had been raised in previous years but were later settled after detailed clarifications.
Committee members nonetheless expressed concern over the discretionary powers of regulatory bodies to revise their own pay scales. It was disclosed that only three regulators in Pakistan hold such powers, prompting the Committee to call for their rationalization. Members stated that salary revisions should exclusively remain the domain of the Cabinet and the Prime Minister, not individual regulators.
The Committee directed the Finance Division to prepare amendments within one month aimed at curtailing such independent powers of regulatory bodies.