ISLAMABAD
Following the arrest of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman, Zaffar Hijazi on Friday, SECP Commissioner Tahir Mahmood is expected to be appointed as Acting Chairman of the commission.
Sources in government said that SECP Commissioner Tahir Mahmood might be appointed as Acting Chairman of the Commission.
It is to be mentioned here that on Friday, Hijazi was arrested following a special court (FIA) rejected his bail before arrest application in the record tampering case.
Sources in SECP said that Tahir Mahmood was in US on an official visit and he would return by Monday.
They added that he would join office after returning by Monday. In the past too, Tahir Mahmood had worked as Acting Chairman SECP in 2014.
Hijazi was arrested from outside the court after Special Court (FIA) central rejected his bail-before-arrest application. Following the rejection of bail plea, Hijazi was taken to SIU Police Station by FIA officials.
Hijazi’s counsel had argued that there is no signature of his client on any file and the allegations made against his client were baseless. He had also argued that the SECP officials tempered the commission’s records without any pressure.
It may be mentioned here that FIA had lodged a FIR on July 10 against Mr Hijazi, for allegedly tampering with the record of Chaudhry Sugar Mills on the order of Supreme Court.
The FIR was registered under sections 466 (forgery) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), read with Section 5(2)47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, at FIA’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in Islamabad.
