LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Law & Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat has said that the Punjab government stands with the business community and will extend all possible facilities according the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He was speaking at a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President Haris Ateeq also spoke on the occasion.

Former Presidents Sohail Lashari, Mian Tariq Misbah, former Senior Vice President Amjad Ali Jawa, former Vice President Mian Zahid Javed Ahmad, EC Members Ahmad Elahi, Mian Ateeq ur Rehman, Ali Afzal, Yousaf Shah, Abdul Wadood Alvi, Muhammad Khalid, Muhammad Nadeem Malik and Usman Malik were also present.

The Minister said that the government will be the ultimate beneficiary when businesses will be grooming. He said that Punjab Assembly has so far passed 110 laws. He said that laws should be public friendly and acceptable for all.

“We will proceed in consultation with the stakeholders” the Minister said and invited a delegation of the LCCI saying that liaison should be on permanent basis.

He informed the house that the Prime Minister had set up a committee of law ministers of four provinces to get rid of the delay in cases. “We have set a timeline to end delay in civil cases”, he said.

Raja Basharat said that now proceedings will not be stopped due to stay orders. He said that Alternate Dispute Resolution Centre and Mediation Centres are working under the Punjab government.

The Minister said that Cabinet Committee for Law & Order and Cabinet Committee for Legislation will be in touch with the business community and all the decisions will be made with consultation.

While answering a question, the Minister said that we are ready to extend maximum facilitation to the businesses for the issuance of arm licenses. Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said that effective legislation plays a key role in determining the right direction of development of any country or province.

He said that Pakistan is facing many economic challenges at the moment. Most of these are related to Financial Problems but at the same time we also face complexities in Governance and Rules & Regulations which are somehow hindering our economic development.

He said it is very important that the laws should be business friendly and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry should be invited in the consultative meetings that precede legislation on governance and business. He said that LCCI is the largest representative chamber of the country’s business community with over 30,000 members, so it is important to know its point of view.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that although government efforts and the hard work of the business community have significantly improved Pakistan’s position in the global Ease of Doing Business rankings but still there is a lot of work has to be done in this regard.

He said that one of the factors of Doing Business is Enforcing Contracts in which Pakistan ranks 156. “We need to simplify our legal system and make its performance functional to improve this position”, he added.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that we have some gaps in the judicial system that need to be filled, which will also help in dealing with the growing number of pending cases in a timely manner.

He said that the recently Commercial Courts have been established by the government which is certainly a welcome step. He said that this project should be extended to the other cities. He also welcomed reforms initiated to resolve the cases of Overseas Pakistanis.

Mian Nauman Kabir informed the Lahore Chamber has also established the first-ever Mediation Center in 2014 to resolve domestic and foreign business matters and trade disputes. He said that such Mediation Centers should be judicially empowered so that all parties can be engaged and the settled issues can be given a legal status.

Senior Vice president Mian Rehman Aziz Chan said that issuance of arms license should be started from LCCI to facilitate its members. He said that to remove delays and burden, second shift should be started in the courts. He said that Land Registration Act should be revised on the pattern of UK to resolve land disputes at the earliest.

LCCI Vice President Haris Ateeq said that nothing can be better than the consultation to resolve the issues at the earliest. He said that consultation will be equally beneficial both for the government and the business community.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

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