ISLAMABAD – The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has paid Rs1.191 billion to its senior officials and employees in salaries, perks, and post-retirement benefits with retrospective effect over a period of 16 months, official documents reveal.
The payments, covering July 1, 2023 to October 31, 2024, were approved by the SECP Policy Board and included compensation for the former chairman, commissioners, executive directors, directors and other staff members.
The matter came to light after Anusha Rahman highlighted in the Senate that large sums of public funds were being retained by state entities in commercial bank accounts instead of being deposited in the Federal Consolidated Fund or Treasury Single Account, in violation of the Public Finance Management Act, 2019.
According to official data, the former chairman and three commissioners received Rs65.559 million, while nine executive directors were paid Rs68.787 million. Payments to other officers included Rs87.046 million for 16 directors, Rs135.123 million for 33 directors, Rs56.391 million for 32 joint directors, and Rs68.541 million for 58 additional joint directors.
Similarly, 42 deputy directors received Rs25.142 million, 55 assistant directors Rs18.296 million, while other staff members were also compensated under the revised pay structure.
Out of the total amount, Rs579.139 million was disbursed as salary arrears, while Rs612.054 million was allocated to gratuity, pension and trust funds, taking the total payout to Rs1.191 billion during the period under review.
Responding to queries, an SECP spokesperson stated that the payments followed a salary benchmarking exercise conducted by KPMG to align compensation with market standards. The proposal, formulated on the basis of this exercise, was approved by the SECP Policy Board under the SECP Act, 1997.
The spokesperson said Rs579 million was paid as backdated salary adjustments, while Rs612 million was transferred to pension and gratuity funds to meet employees’ terminal benefits in accordance with established policies.
He further clarified that under the SECP Act, 1997, the Policy Board is the competent authority to approve financial matters, and no separate approval from the Ministry of Finance or the Prime Minister’s Office was required.
On oversight, the spokesperson said the commission shares information with relevant forums, including parliamentary committees, as required under legal provisions. He added that the matter has not yet been taken up at the Departmental Accounts Committee level, while the SECP follows a structured mechanism to address observations raised by the Auditor General of Pakistan.
