The Senate Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla on Thursday has raised concerns over the performance of Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) which has not been paying attention to the functioning of cartels leading to a rise in inflation domestically. The committee members were of the view that the government should do away with the CCP if it failed to operate as per the law.
Senator Mohsin Aziz said that inflation is on the rise in the country since many sectors in the industry such as the cement industry are operating as cartels and no action is being taken against them.
On the other hand, CCP Chairperson Vadiyya Khalil stated that CCP had fined  Rs 6b to the cement industry on account of cartelization. However, the cement industry had resorted to obtaining a stay order from the high court against the decision. The committee has decided to summon attorney general in next meeting to present view points on the government’s efforts for vacating stay orders in cartelization cases.
