Meeting of IPR Enforcement Coordination Committee, Peshawar held on at the new, upgraded IPO Regional Office, conveniently located in central Peshawar.
The Meeting was chaired by Ambassador (R) Farukh Amil, Chairperson IPO-Pakistan and attended by Mr. Fazal Moqeem Khan, President Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI); Mr. Jawad Ishaq, AIG (Operations) KP Police; Mr. Shafiq Ahmed, Assistant Director, KP Food Safety and Halal Food Authority; Mr. Kamran Us Salam Qazi, Assistant Director, FIA; Mr. Philemoon Inspector, FIA; Mr. Nassar Farooq Shah, Inspector, Customs; Mr. Himayet Shah, Regional Director, KP, PEMRA; Mr. Muhammad Ismail, Director (Enforcement) IPO; Mr. Saifullah Khan, Director (Copyrights) IPO; Mr. Waqas Ayub, Assistant Director (Enforcement) IPO.
The Chair IPO welcomed the participants and stressed the necessity of coordinated efforts with collective goals by all stakeholders regarding enforcement of IP Laws. The Chair informed the participants about the importance of IP in general and its enforcement specifically. He stated that IP is a huge and important topic; it not only affects the working of local market items such as food and medicines, but also tariffs on a large scale. Underlining the important role of IPR Enforcement coordination, the Chair-IPO elaborated that the effective IPR Enforcement was critical in determining foreign investment. Foreign investors and existing Multinationals were looking very closely at protection of their brands, having a sophisticated understanding of IP abuse. Pakistan had no choice but to be seen as a serious investment destination with a robust culture of IP Awareness and Enforcement. Foreign Investment would avoid countries not seen as IP responsible. Few would choose a country which fell short of global standards of IPR enforcement. Equally, IP abusers damaged legitimate domestic companies and deterred MSM Entrepreneurs from pursuing innovative enterprises. The Chairperson urged effective deterrence through inter-departmental coordination and cohesion among stakeholders to effectively address piracy and counterfeiting.
Mr. Fazal Moqeem Khan, SCCI, said that effective coordination and facilitation was required from the Government bodies for ease of business in the country. The KP industry has a great potential for development by wise use of IP rights. He said that Afghanistan and Central Asian States were natural, adjacent export destinations. He appreciated the Chair IPO for taking personal interest in relocating IPO Regional Office, Peshawar at the State Life building for easy public access.
Mr. Jawad Ishaq, AIG, KP Police said that KP is one of the most vulnerable areas in Pakistan for business activities as well as enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting. There is need of capacity building of the field officers and awareness in the business community about IP protection.
Mr. Muhammad Ismail (Director) Enforcement presented a detailed presentation which encompassed important topics related to Intellectual Property Management in Pakistan along with brief introduction of core functions of IPO-Pakistan. The functions and responsibilities of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Enforcement Coordination Committees (ECCs) were also presented. He said that seven Intellectual Property Tribunals are currently functional at Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan and Quetta. He also explained that the IP Tribunals are specialized courts to hear IP infringement cases. He said that IPO is coordinating with Law Division for establishing IP Tribunals at Peshawar and other major cities as well. He further added that 12 IP Enforcement Coordination Committees are functional at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Gilgit, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Muzaffarabad. He apprised that the Anti-piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting Cells are functional and affective at all 05 offices of IPO-Pakistan. He said that IPO-Pakistan is responsible to receive complaints from IP right holders and forward these complaints to concerned LEAs for necessary action.
Mr. Nassar Farooq Shah from Pakistan Customs stated that while enforcement of IP is an important topic, the need of the hour is awareness about IPR laws. He stated that many LEAs that deal with IPR laws have lack of education about IP and relevant laws; moreover, the same goes for business community as well. He requested the Chair to arrange awareness sessions, especially for field officers, for better and coordinated enforcement. The participants from FIA also endorsed this suggestion and requested separate session for each LEAs.
Mr. Kamran Us Salam Qazi, Assistant Director, FIA said that issue of registered and applied trademarks and copyrights is highlighted in the courts by the attorneys of IP litigators. He further said that there was the need to establish IP tribunal at Peshawar at the earliest as they have to proceed their cases in FIA courts where issue of jurisdiction is raised by the lawyers. Chair IPO said that IPO-Pakistan will expedite the case of establishment of IP Tribunal at Peshawar.
Mr. Shafiq Ahmed, AD, KP Food Safety and Halal Food Authority said that their Authority is taking effective actions against false labeling in KP. There is need of effective coordination between IPO-Pakistan and KP Food Authority to discourage use of unethical and immoral trademarks by the food industry producers.
The text of Intellectual Property (Enforcement & Coordination) Rules, 2025 was also discussed during the meeting. The Chair advised the members of LEAs to review the draft text and forward their written input to IPO-Pakistan within two weeks’ time, so that draft should be finalized and forwarded to the Federal Government for approval and notification as per procedure.
The initiative for devising online complaint system by IPO-Pakistan was appreciated by all members. It was suggested by the participants that more IP Tribunals may be established. It was also proposed that capacity building programs for LEAs and awareness/information sessions for business community may be convened on regular basis.
In the end, while welcoming the ideas and suggestions by the participants, the Chair highlighted importance of Data Sharing and feedback from LEAs about enforcement cases. He informed that this data is shared with the Parliament and relevant international forums; showing Pakistan’s solid commitment towards fulfilling its obligations under international treaties. His concluding comment underlined that IP Awareness and IPR Enforcement were ultimately crucial for the National Economic Security of Pakistan.
