A humble effort to document the corporate governance issues in Pakistan is in your hands. The special issue on corporate governance has been organized to reflect the two broad categories of corporate governance: (a) Compliance and (b) Failure. The issue subscribes to the theme that compliance with corporate governance results in better financial returns and high degree of market evaluation by independent sources, while corporate governance failure eventually results in financial fiasco. Islamic guidelines and local perspectives on corporate governance are also a part of this special issue.

The special issue has been organized based on the papers citing corporate governance failures, success stories and viewpoints from agencies responsible for erecting and polishing corporate governance in Pakistan, i.e., Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG). It is worth mentioning here that without the extended support of Faud Azim Hashmi, President and CEO of PICG, and Etrat Hussain Rizvi, Former Commissioner of SECP, this issue on corporate governance would not have been possible.

This special issue is basically the brainchild of Dr. Kamran Siddiqui, who has been working on this idea for many years. He started the desk research and collected all possible information from various sources, including the library of Institute of Bankers, Karachi, Pakistan. This year, he asked his colleagues in different universities to write for a national cause. He was lucky enough that many authors reacted positively to his call and produced research papers on a very short notice.

Recognition and appreciation must be credited to all the authors/case writers who have worked tirelessly to bring out this issue in print. Another rising star in the academic circle of the country is Mahwish Anjam. Prior to joining the academia, she has worked for state-owned corporations on corporate assignments. She has contributed well in this special issue. Another renowned speaker on corporate governance, Faryal Salman, who is an IBA Alumnus and a Research Scholar at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), has played a pivotal role in this special issue, especially in collecting viewpoints of corporate governance agencies in Pakistan. One of the major contributors to this special issue is Syed Muhammad Fahim, who is a seasoned management faculty member and an avid reader besides being a Research Scholar at KASBIT and has contributed positively to this special issue. My special thanks to all of them.

The credit goes to the editorial team of The IUP Journal of Corporate Governance for taking this effort and bringing out this special issue on ‘Corporate Governance in Pakistan’.

-- Naveed-ur-Rehman
Guest Editor