The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Federal government and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to submit a reply by March 13, 2023, for illegalities in the appointment process of the Commissioner.
The petitioner in Constitutional Petition 236 of 2023 has pleaded to declare the appointment of Sadia Khan illegal, male fide and void ab initio because of concealment of a conflict of interest, illegalities in the appointment process, and abuse of power by the accused Commissioner.
Sadia Khan was appointed as Commissioner of the SECP in March 2020. At the time of her appointment as Commissioner, she was holding the position of Honorary Consulate General of Finland.
She continues to hold the position, even after her appointment as Commissioner SECP, which is evident from the directory of the Consular Corps Sindh. Furthermore, Sadia was also CEO of Selar Enterprises (Private) Limited at the time of her appointment, which is a clear breach of Section 16 of the SECP Act 1997, which requires prior disclosure of any potential conflict of interest.
She was required to resign from all the positions held by her at the time and provide confirmation of having done so.
The petitioner alleged that she submitted her resignation confirmation, which was a blatant lie, and that she had lied and deceived the federal government. The fact has been established that she has never resigned from her position as honorary Consulate General of Finland.
Moreover, the petitioner alleges that the Ministry of Finance has not followed proper processes in the appointment of Sadia Khas as Commissioner.
Moreover, it is alleged that she does not have the requisite experience and expertise to be considered for the post of SECP Commissioner since she has mostly worked in her family business as opposed to any professional organization, the petitioner claimed.
The petitioner has also accused the SECP Commissioner of abuse of power and failure to disclose a conflict of interest, and an inquiry shall be ordered into her appointment under Section 19(2) of the SECP Act.
ProPakistani approached SECP Commissioner Sadia Khan for comments but no reply was received till the filing of the story.
