ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed two members of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), enabling the Commission to take suo motu actions against cartels.
The government has appointed Dr Shahzad Ansar and Dr Muhammad Saleem as CCP members through a competitive hiring process after passing almost one year when the former members retired. The positions of three members of the CCP remained vacant since January this year, rendering the Commission unable to take suo motu actions against cartels with only 2 members.
Under Section 14 of the Competition Act, 2010, the Commission must consist of not less than five and not more than seven members. Vadiyya Khalil, Chairperson, and Ikram Ul Haque Qureshi, Member, were the only two members serving at CCP. The number of members now rose to four after federal government appointed two members. Post of a member is still vacant in the Commission.
Section 37(1) of the Competition Act, 2010 allows the Commission to take suo motu actions. With only two members, the Commission was unable to exercise this power due to lack of quorum during last one year. However, under Section 37 (2) of the Competition Act, 2010, the Commission can conduct enquiries on formal complaints received from undertakings, issue show-cause notices, hold hearings and pass orders.
