Sindh Consumer Protection Act-2015: Farooqi assures to make consumer courts functional

The former special assistant to Sindh Chief Minister, Sharmila Farooqi has assured that under the provisions of Sindh Consumer Protection Act-2015 the consumer courts would soon be established and made functional. Speaking at a seminar organized by the Helpline Trust to mark the World Consumer Rights' Day, Farooqi said that she is going to meet the Sindh CM in a day or two to convince him to take the steps required to establish the consumer courts in the province in the next six to eight months.
She said that despite the passage of three years to the Sindh Consumer Protection Act 2015, it was yet to be enforced as the Sindh government didn't notify till date the rules of business or allocation of the budget required for the implementation of the law. Farooqi was instrumental in preparation and passage of the Sindh Consumer Protection Bill from Sindh Assembly.
The seminar also coincided with the date marking the third anniversary when the then Sindh governor assented to the Sindh Consumer Protection Law so it attained the status of an Act. Farooqi said that she was fully cognizant of the situation that mere passage of the Consumer Protection Law from the Provincial Assembly was not enough as this law should be implemented in letter and spirit to protect lawful rights of consumers in the province.
She said that enforcement of Sindh Consumer Protection Act would provide the much needed mechanism and system to resolve genuine complaints of general consumers and also to duly protect their rights. She said that she would put in efforts to get notified at the earliest the rules required to implement Sindh Consumer Protection Act as at present the rules drafted by Sindh government's Law Department for the purpose are with the Bureau of Supply and Prices working under the provincial Agriculture Department.
President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Muffasar Atta Malik offered to take the issue of the formation of the consumer courts with the CM Sindh. In his capacity as the representative leader of business and industrialists' fraternity of the city, his services were fully available to convince Sindh CM to establish the consumer courts. In a presentation on the theme of World Consumer Rights day 2018, "Making digital market places fairer" panelist Ali Kabir Shah of Ali Associates said e-commerce and online shopping service was the emerging new domain where the government should do legislation and adopt firm mechanisms to protect legitimate interests and rights of consumers involved in online buying of products.
He said at present only Cyber-crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been tasked to check and prevent all fraudulent and unlawful practices on the internet. He said, apart from the FIA, a special agency should be designated to look into genuine complaints and grievances of consumers shopping online. Manager Legal and Corporate Affairs of English Biscuits, Azam Shakil explained how in the absence of the Consumer Protection Laws, manufacturers also suffer a loss in market share and reputation through counterfeit products by unscrupulous elements which compromise the health of consumers.
Director at PSQCA, Akhtar Bughio said that national standards and international compliance have to be met and the provincial bodies being set up need to realize that their standards should not conflict with the national standards. Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Helpline Trust and of Sindh Human Rights Commission former Justice Majid Rizvi said that some of the existing lower courts in the province should be designated as Consumer Courts till the time the Provincial Government establish full-time consumer courts in different districts of Sindh as given in the Consumer Protection Act.
A trustee of the Helpline Trust, Afia Salam expressed hope that relevant government authorities would take the steps required to adopt the mechanism and system to protect legitimate rights of consumers including establishment of consumer courts. Founder Trustee of the Helpline Trust, Hamid Maher said it was high time that consumers in Sindh should have the legal recourse of consumer courts available to them to resolve their genuine grievances as it had been the system in practice in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Maher said that only consumer courts could safeguard consumer rights against fraudulent practices of sellers and manufacturers including counterfeiting, look alike products, fleecing, exploitation, and cheating as a tool to sell products and services for the maximum financial gainc