KARACHI: Consumer courts will be established and made functional soon across the province in accordance with provisions of Sindh Consumer Protection Act-2015. The assurance came from the former special assistant to Sindh chief minister and a PPP MPA Sharmila Faruqi, while speaking as a keynote speaker at a seminar organised by the Helpline Trust to mark the World Consumer Rights’ Day. As an MPA, Faruqi was instrumental in preparation and passage of the Sindh Consumer Protection Bill from the assembly. Friday’s seminar also marked the third anniversary of the Sindh governor’s ratification of the Sindh Consumer Protection Law, giving it the status of an Act of the legislature. Speakers at the session lamented that despite passage of three years, the Sindh Consumer Protection Act was yet to be enforced as the government didn’t notify rules of business or allocate the needed budget required for due implementation of the law. The PPP MPA said, “I am going to meet the Sindh CM in a day or two to convince him to initiate the steps required to establish consumer courts in the province in the next six to eight months.” Faruqi said that she was fully cognizant of the situation that mere passage of the Consumer Protection Law from provincial assembly was not enough as this law should be implemented in letter and spirit to protect rights of the consumers in the province. She said that enforcement of Sindh Consumer Protection Act would provide a much-needed mechanism and system to resolve genuine complaints of consumers and also to duly protect their rights. The PPP MPA said that she would make 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 were lying with the Bureau of Supply and Prices, working under the provincial Agriculture Department. The chief guest of the seminar, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Muffasar Atta Malik offered to take the issue of formation of 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, he assured the gathering. In a presentation on the theme of World Consumer Rights Day of 2018, titled ‘Making Digital Marketplaces Fairer’, panelist Ali Kabir Shah of Ali Associates said e-commerce and online shopping services were emerging new domains where the government should do legislation and adopt firm mechanisms to protect legitimate interests and rights of consumers involved in online buying and selling of products. He said that at present only the cyber-crime wing of the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) had been tasked to check and prevent all fraudulent and unlawful practices on the Internet. Apart from the FIA, a special agency should be designated to look into genuine complaints and grievances of consumers doing online purchasing of products. Published in Daily Times, March 17th 2018.