KARACHI: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved Al-Hilal Shariah Advisors (Pvt) Limited to independently conduct Sharia screening of capital market securities, marking the first such approval granted to an entity other than the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and its partners, said a statement on Tuesday.
The approval creates room for greater competition in Sharia-compliant investment services and provides a regulatory pathway for alternative Sharia screening arrangements under the Shariah Governance Regulations, 2023.
At present, Sharia screening of listed securities is carried out by the PSX in collaboration with Meezan Bank Limited and Al-Meezan Investment Management Limited.Out of the 535 listed securities at the exchange, 308 are classified as Sharia-compliant, representing a market capitalisation of Rs12,373 billion, or about 63 per cent of the total market capitalisation of Rs19,679 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Al-Hilal Shariah Advisors, an SECP-licensed Sharia adviser, provides advisory, governance and compliance services to capital market participants, financial institutions and corporate entities.Under the approved framework, the company will be able to independently screen securities for Sharia compliance for its clients and the general public using the latest available financial data.
The process also introduces defined rules for inclusion and exclusion of securities from the Sharia-compliant list and a formal compliance mechanism to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements.
The methodology is expected to support the development of new Islamic indices in Pakistan’s capital market. Under SECP conditions, the company will coordinate with the PSX before launching any Sharia-compliant index, while updated lists of compliant securities will be published quarterly instead of the earlier six-month cycle.
