ISLAMABAD: While filing the top slot of country’s economic regulator on Tuesday, the federal cabinet approved appointment of Rahat Kaunain as chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan for three years.
A lawyer by profession Rahat Kaunain already have served as member legal and fair trading besides chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and have co-authored some significant orders of the Commission including those against cement and LPG cartels.
Talking to a YouTube channel during 2018, Rahat Kaunain has pointed out some gray areas of the Commission saying to enhance respect of the CCP it would be mandatory to focus more on enforcement and then the advocacy.
She is of the view that the CCP being economic regulator is not sector specific but sector blind, is supposed to create competitiveness for level playing field in economy as she used to say that being big is not prohibited in law but one should not abuse his dominance being big.
Kaunain also said during the interview, “legitimately of action must be there, good intention must be supported by law – in judicial activism, executive reforms or political reforms there must be legitimacy of action”.
She expressed that the CCP is strengthen by the law with an objective to eliminate abuse of dominance, prohibited agreements, prevention of deceptive practices in the market amid appreciating anti-competitive practices while overseeing legality of mergers and acquisitions.
Rahat Kaunain, who currently works as a practicing lawyer and a partner in Hassan Kaunain Nafees law firm, has previously served twice as a Commission’s member (legal and office of Fair Trading) since its establishment in November 2007 whereas she had also served one term from 2010 to 2013, as the chairperson of the CCP.
She has an LLB degree from City Law College Lahore and an LLM degree from the Kings College, London whereas Kaunain had also served as General Counsel/ Executive Director at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan from 2001 to 2003.
The writer heads a leading news wire service ‘The Law Today Pakistan’ commonly known as TLTP. He has a special focus on news relating to superior courts adjudication, access to right of information, civil, political, social and economic rights under the approach that existing cyber regime realization ensures procedural fairness in administrative law. He can be reached at editor@tltpnews.com
