ISLAMABAD: The federal government has approved the appointment of Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu as new Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
Dr Sidhu is currently serving as Chairman of Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), where he led one of most significant institutional turnarounds in the commission’s history. When he assumed office in August 2023, CCP was grappling with long-standing enforcement bottlenecks and a substantial backlog of litigation and inquiries.
Within two years, the commission reduced its court case backlog by more than 70 percent, deciding 434 cases out of 567 pending matters.
With over 20 years of professional experience, Dr Sidhu has worked with insurance companies, law firms and financial institutions in the UK, as well as government ministries in Pakistan.
During his tenure at CCP, the commission recovered approximately Rs1.36 billion in penalties. In contrast, total recoveries over previous 20 years stood at only Rs200 million. The regulator also imposed more than Rs2 billion in fresh penalties through new enforcement actions.
Major investigations and enforcement actions were initiated against cartels in the poultry, sugar, edible oil, telecommunications and medical services sectors. Several of these actions were upheld by the Supreme Court and Competition Appellate Tribunal, providing strong judicial validation of CCP’s enforcement efforts.
A major institutional reform during his tenure was the launch of Market Intelligence Unit (MIU), the CCP’s first AI-powered surveillance arm. This initiative marked a shift towards data-driven and proactive market monitoring.
