An application has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking annulment of the non-provision of online business facilities and e-commerce policy in Pakistan.

The court has sought a reply from the federal government on the petition filed against the e-commerce policy and also directed the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Information Technology to submit a reply within two weeks.

It may be recalled that the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah heard the petition of Junaid Hameed, a citizen. Barrister Qadir Bakhsh, counsel for the petitioner, said that registration of Pakistani citizens on the world’s largest online trading website was closed.

He said that companies like Amazon and PayPal have objections to Pakistan’s international payment strategy while the e-commerce industry has grown to more than USD 4 trillion worldwide but Pakistani citizens have no access to the global market for online sales.

He said that e-commerce policy 2019 is full of flaws so it should be declared ineffective.

Petitioner’s counsel requested that the government be directed to take steps to protect consumer rights and data, including appropriate legislation for e-commerce policy.

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