Senator Ahmed Ali of MQM, who is also Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, on Wednesday, alleged that incumbent Chairman Competition Commission of Pakistan had been indirectly pressurising the Committee for early finalisation of the competition law currently under its review after passage from the National Assembly. He (Chairman CCP) should not influence our work through media and let us do our legislative work independently, he remarked on floor of the House. It was petty matter that there was literally no one, neither from treasury nor from the opposition, to speak out on behalf of the Commission explaining the essentiality of the competition law to check the hegemony of cartels and mafia. Nobody amongst the worthy parliamentarians appeared to be even interested to know factual state of the matter of the Competition Commission that has, merely, been seeking a new lease of life, as the law on its backing dies in next few days. As they say silence speaks volumes, the ruling party, the coalition partners, and even the opposition mum over the treatment being given to Competition Commission indicates a sort of unspoken consensus not to have an effective watchdog against cartels. On the other hand, leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan who hardly misses any such critical issue while speaking on floor of the House also did not bother to touch this burning issue of immense public importance during his speech on Wednesday. Perhaps, his partys economic wizard Senator Ishaq Dar had already given out the partys stance over the issue of the CCP in his previous statement on floor of the Upper House that is why Khan did not touch it. And Mr Dar, who was also the first finance minister of the incumbent Government, had already criticised the Commission for using luxurious furniture for its offices. It is paradoxical that parliamentarians, irrespective of any divide, are all out to restore the Constitution, which they say was tarnished by the former dictator, but they are least bothered to save the dying competition law as well as outfit that was meant to save public from mafia exploitation. Is that mean that they want to set the mafia and cartels at large to play havoc with the lives of weaker stakeholders with consumers on top of them? If it goes the way it was that the Competition Ordinance was expiring on March 28 and the Commission has already stopped functioning on Wednesday, it would paint Pakistans face in a way authenticating the Transparency Internationals already given rating about corruption. The country already rated amongst the first 20 per cent of the most corrupt nations of the world saying good bye to competition law would add yet another stigma on its face.