Senior Vice President DSAP Liaquat Ali Magray, General Secretary DSAP Zarif Ahmed and DSAP Acting President Afzal Ahmed were also present.
Shaikh Rashid said that after three years' untiring efforts and fulfilling all legal requirements DSAP presented the "Direct Selling and Network Marketing Bill 2019" to the Ministry of Law and Justice and now after careful review and scrutiny, the Federal Minister for Law & Justice, Barrister Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem has the bill accepted for presentation in the forthcoming regular session of the National Assembly.
After the approval of the bill, steps will be taken to make the business of direct selling an industry on country-wide scale under the Direct Selling Regulatory Authority and the people or institutions who in the name of direct selling or network marketing have been cheating the people will be brought to an end through law enforcement, he added.
He informed that Direct Selling has been fast making its way in the developed and developing countries of the world. According to a recently conducted survey, more than 300 million people belong to this industry. Last year the business volume of this industry was recorded exceeding $ 200 billion from which this can be safely assessed as to how fast this way of trade is getting popular in the world.
Shaikh Rashid said that the passing of the bill will pave the way for an economic revolution in the country and Pakistan will enter into a new era of progress and prosperity.
He told that with the formation of Direct Selling Authority it would be quite possible to bring an end to the restlessness and uncertainty found in this industry and it will result in forming a conducive environment at international level.
This will help to enter more than 3,000 well-reputed multinational companies operating in the business of direct selling in our neighboring countries including China, India, Malaysia, UAE into Pakistan, he added.
According to a modest estimate more than 2 million people will get employment and an opportunity to do their own personal business. This will give a boost to entrepreneurship in the country and a population consisting of more than 50% women will get an opportunity to work from home. The dream of change that is being seen in the perspective of CPEC, the direct selling industry in this respect can certainly play a leading role and by reinforcing this industry the change can be made more imminent, he mentioned.
The concept of direct selling has already been adopted globally by many countries such as Austria, Australia, Belgium, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States of America. These countries have not only implemented it as mere a model but have also adopted legislative measures to regulate this industry.
"This bill after having been passed will play a leading role in resolving the economy and we understand that this bill will be quite instrumental and play an important role in carrying forward the economic agenda of the present government," he concluded.