Cabinet approves appointment of new chairman SECP Policy Board

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet here on Tuesday appointed Mehmood Mandviwala as chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Policy Board after a gap of 6 months, paving way for the approval of the commission’s annual budget 2021-22.

Barrister Mandviwala is a corporate lawyer by profession.

The federal cabinet also approved the resignation of former chairman SECP Policy Board, Syed Masoud Naqvi, which he had tendered on June 23, 2021, due to personal reasons, after being appointed to the post in May 2020.

It may be mentioned here that due to the absence of a chairperson, the SECP Policy Board could not approve the commission’s annual budget for the ongoing fiscal year. As a result, all finances and expenditures were being incurred on an adhoc basis.

The SECP Policy Board consists of a maximum of 11 persons which includes five ex-officio members and six from the private sector.

Prior to Naqvi, Prof. Khalid Mirza was appointed as the first private sector expert to head the Board in November 2018. Before that the position was traditionally held by secretary finance. 

Mirza’s appointment was reversed by the Cabinet on Aug 9, 2019, leading to a controversy as he challenged the decision in the Islamabad High Court (IHC); however, he resigned as chairman SECP Policy Board in May 2020.