PESHAWAR, April 17: Former Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court Justice (retd) Mian Mohammed Ajmal said on Sunday that due to non-implementation of relevant laws, the consumers in the country were exploited through deceptive advertisements and hoarding of goods of everyday use. He was addressing a seminar on ‘Consumers protection law and public grievances redress mechanism’, organised by an NGO, The Network, here on Sunday evening.

The former chief justice underlined the visible difference between the legal system of the west and the east and said that in case of Pakistan due to non-availability of proper regulatory system, consumers suffered because of hoarding, black marketing and exploitation through using deceptive tools of communication and other tactics.

He was of the view that the sub-standard daily commodities were openly available in Pakistani markets and the department concerned were lacking the will to implement the laws and protect the consumers interests.

Although there has been proper law for consumers’ protection, but this law was never implemented to protect the interests of consumers, he added.

All these lapses have made Pakistan a hub of sub-standard products and there is a dire need that all the stake-holders should embark on collective efforts to check such happenings and start a comprehensive drive to create awareness about consumers rights and the ways to protect their interests, he remarked.