WASIM IQBAL & ZULFIQAR AHMAD

ISLAMABAD: Incoming federal government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will revamp all regulatory bodies by making them completely autonomous. These bodies are currently working under different line ministries.

Background discussions with different PTI leaders revealed that the overarching objective of the next PTI government would be to strengthen institutions, especially regulatory bodies.

The previous PML-N government ‘destroyed’ regulatory bodies by bringing five regulatory bodies under their line ministries: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), were placed under the administrative control of their line ministries on 6 June, 2017.

“This was done by Ishaq Dar [the then finance minister] as he was a ‘control freak’ and his main objective was to stop institutions from taking decisions independent of the cabinet,” said a senior PTI leader.

He said that if institutions are made free of political interference, only then will they be able to perform, adding that institutional reforms will be on top of the agenda of the party after formation of the government.

A senior official of a regulatory body told Business Recorder that a head of a regulatory body is a constitutional position and the prime minister has to send a reference to the president for removal of a regulatory body’s chief.

NEPRA chairman, Brig (r) Tariq Saddozai was appointed as NEPRA chairman for five years and will retire on November 20, 2019.

On June 30, 2016, Uzma Adil was appointed as chairperson of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) for four years.

Shaukat Hussain was appointed chairman SECP on 12 May, 2018, for a term of three years.

Vadiyya Khalil started her second term as chairperson CCP on 17 December 2017 for three years.