Asia-Pacific, Economy & Trade, Headlines, Human Rights

PAKISTAN: Consumer Rights Only Sporadically Enforced

Irfan Ahmed

ISLAMABAD, Jul 3 2008 (IPS) - Since the first serious attempt at enacting consumer rights laws in Pakistan was made back in 1995, only one province – Punjab – has succeeded in setting up consumer courts.

These courts have the jurisdiction to listen to consumers’ complaints and give relief to the complainants according to the provisions of the Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005. The country’s remaining three provinces, however, lag far behind when it comes to imposition of similar laws within their respective jurisdictions.

Mujataba Chishti, a former local government representative, told IPS it was unfortunate that consumer courts are a reality only in one part of the country. He said this is totally against the internationally recognised principle that consumers have a universal right to satisfaction of basic needs, safety, choice, information, consumer education, redress, representation and a healthy environment.

Chishti believes that the extraordinarily powerful corporate sector of the country has blocked the evolution of consumer rights laws in the country. “It’s most powerful in Karachi. That’s why the very ordinance has never been presented in the provincial assembly for discussion,” he added.

Chishti hopes that Pakistan’s new coalition government will not waste time in making consumer courts functional in the other three provinces as well. “They have a successful model functional in Punjab. What does it take them to replicate in NWFP [North-West Frontier Province], Balochistan and Sindh?” he asked.

The creation of consumer courts in the country is part of the 350-million-dollar Access to Justice Programme (AJP) sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The AJP is aimed at bringing about revolutionary reforms in Pakistan’s justice system. The ADB has taken notice of repeated missed deadlines for the setting up of these courts.

There are currently 11 consumer courts in Punjab province catering to the complaints of citizens hailing from all 35 districts of the province. There is one provincial and 11 consumer protection councils that spread awareness on consumer rights and provide free advocacy. The Punjab government has plans to establish these institutions in all the 35 districts.

Amjad Farooq, a Lahore-based lawyer, told IPS that the consumer courts in Punjab have the powers to fine and punish violators and recover fines under the land revenue act.

“This does not mean that the defendants are left unprotected,” he noted. “The act also prescribes fines on complainants making false claims.”

Consumer rights activists describe the developments in Punjab as encouraging, but lament the fact that only one out of four provinces has been successful in establishing consumer courts.

Waseem Gauhar, a consumer rights activist, told IPS that other provinces do have consumer protection laws but lack any mechanism to implement them. He says the Islamabad Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 1995 and the NWFP Consumer Protection Law in 1997.

The Balochistan and Punjab provinces enacted their Consumer Protection Acts in 2003 and 2005. In Sindh, a Consumer Protection Ordinance was promulgated in 2004 but was never presented before the provincial assembly for approval. The ordinance lapsed and had to be promulgated again in February 2007.

Shahid Butt, assistant director of the Punjab Consumer Protection Council, told IPS that 1,281 cases were filed in the 11 consumer courts of Punjab between Mar. 1, 2007 and May 31, 2008. Of these, 813 cases (63 percent of the total filed) have been disposed of.

He says complaints have included unsatisfactory public utilities, and medical, financial and travel services, among others. Similarly, citizens filed complaints about defective products like computers, televisions, generators, automobiles, CNG kits, household items, building material, beverages, food items and so on.

Under the law, defendants have 15 days to remedy a complaint. If the parties do not reach an agreement within that period, the complainant can approach the court free of cost. The consumer court must decide cases within six months. If the complainant’s point is proved, the defendant has to pay a fine and compensation, as well as the fee of the complainant’s lawyer, Butt said.

Citing an example of pre-trial settlement, Butt said a doctor in Rawalpindi agreed to pay 6,400 dollars compensation to a man whose son lost his foot following a sciatic nerve injury. The doctor was accused of negligence, and settled the case in January under section 29 of the Punjab Protection Act of 2005. Butt said such a lawsuit would have been unthinkable even two years ago.

Hamid Maker, chair of the Helpline Trust, blames the passivity of consumers for the slow evolution of consumer rights in Pakistan. He says it’s the consumers themselves who refuse to exercise their rights, and purchase products and accept services without checking price or quality.

Ibrahim Mughal, chairman of the Agri Forum Pakistan, believes it is imperative to create awareness among consumers who know little about such platforms available to them. For example, Pakistan’s agricultural industry produces food products worth more than 17 billion dollars annually. He said that farmers are often sold substandard fertilisers, pesticides and seeds but have no way to complain and sometimes are unaware of the problem.

This trend is changing, Butt says. There are currently four court cases against substandard pesticides, 15 against seeds and one against fish seeds in different consumer courts, said Butt.