Eventually, two CCP members appointed

After a lapse of several months, the federal government has finally appointed two members in the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), enabling the commission to exercise suo motu powers against cartels and other violators. Finance Division has issued notifications in this regard, here on Friday on the appointment of two members in the CCP.
These positions were vacant since January 2017 with the term expiry of three Members including Dr Joseph Wilson, Mueen Batlay and Dr Shahzad Ansar. The position of one Member was advertised on 18th Dec, 2016 while advertisement for two other Members was published on 26th Feb, 2017. After following a competitive process, Dr Shahzad Ansar and Dr Muhammad Saleem have been appointed as Members CCP.
Shahzad Ansar has a PhD in Business Administration with a specialization in Microfinance and a Master's degree in Engineering Geology. He is a certified SME Manager in the Doctorate category and holds International Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management. He also has certifications in Intellectual Property Laws, Marketing, and Personal Finance from Nipomo, California USA.
Dr Ansar has over 30 years' experience in management, business development and project finance. He was a resource person with Virtual University of Pakistan, a visiting faculty member at the University of Central Punjab and Civil Services Academy, and Dean of Management Sciences at the University of South Asia, Lahore. He also served as Member CCP overseeing the Office of Fair Trading and Advocacy Department from 2011-2017.
Dr Muhammad Saleem has MSc in Economics from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad and Second Master's degree in Economics and PhD in Economics from Kansas State University USA. He has over 33 years of experience with regulators, ministries and international organizations. He has served as Director General Finance and Commercial Affairs in the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and also worked with the Ministries of Planning & Development, and Commerce. He played an instrumental role in establishing the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Sultanate of Oman as Economic/Regulatory Advisor for the Government of Oman.
Dr Saleem has significantly contributed in formulating the Telecom Policy for the Government of Pakistan, preparing the Vision 2025 document, and devising the Digital Financial Strategy. He has published several reports and research papers including a Report on Institutional Design of Regulatory Bodies: Diagnostic and Reform Directions, (Convener of Working Group, Ministry of Finance) and written a book on "Fair Trade Practices in Telecommunications Sector".
Under Section 14 of the Competition Act, 2010, the Commission will consist of not less than five and not more than seven Members. Vadiyya Khalil, Chairperson, and Ikram Ul Haque Qureshi, Member, are the other Members currently serving at CCP. Section 37(1) of the Competition Act, 2010 allows the Commission to take suo motu actions. Currently, with only two Members the Commission has not exercised this power due to lack of quorum. However, under Section 37 (2) of the Competition Act, 2010, the Commission can conduct enquiry on formal complaints received from undertakings, issue show cause notices, hold hearings and pass orders.