Attempting to do away with a Taliban-era law, the Hamid Karzai-led Afghanistan government has roped in an Indian law firm for the job. The firm?s mandate? Come up with a new competition law for Afghanistan, something that would also result in the repealing of the controversial anti-hoarding law brought by the Talibani regime when it ruled the country.
Two partners of leading law firm Economic Laws Practice (ELP) are busy these days, giving final touches to the competition law and will make a presentation to senior officials of Afghanistan?s ministry of commerce. Among other things, the brief to the lawyers is also to prepare a law that would be ?21st century-compliant?.
?We have been asked to go through the prevailing laws in the country (Afghanistan) and suggest a modern-day competition law that would help the government in making a smooth transition to a free market economy,? says Samir Gandhi, partner, ELP, who is part of the team working on what he calls the most challenging assignment till date.
The ambitious project came the firm?s way through the UK?s Adam Smith Institute, a formerly-Conservative think tank.
But, free-market economy and Afghanistan? ?Yes, exactly. People ask me why does Afghanistan need a competition law. The country?s new Constitution envisages a free-market economy, where anybody will be able to do business, as long as it is legal. That is why the law is such a challenging task. We have been told that the country?s government doesn?t want any law to give rise to oligarchs and monopolies, as happened in the Russia after it embraced free-market economy. The challenge is to have a modern, effective law that is simple enough for the government to enforce in the prevailing environment,? says Gandhi.
Gandhi and one of his colleagues spent time in Afghanistan two weeks ago to ?understand? the matter at hand and also evaluate the shortcomings in the country?s laws dealing with the subject. They were to go back on Saturday but had to cancel the trip at the last minute in light of intelligence alert about the possibility of a fresh attack on Indians in Afghanistan.
Asked if in a country ravaged by war and continuing outside influence and a government, whose influence doesn?t extend much beyond the boundary of Kabul, the Capital of the country, will such a law work, Gandhi replied in the affirmative.
?What we have seen is that they (Afghanistan officials) have a lot of will to bring in change. But, we will also take care to ensure that while global best practices are included in the new law, there isn?t too much sophisticated data or complication. But, it will work,? he said.
?In 2008, when there world witnessed a commodities crisis, Afghanistan too felt the shocks. It was then that the government felt the need to tackle cartelisation. Also, with a lot of untapped natural resources, foreign powers and companies are trying to get a foot-hold and secure their investment. But, the government doesn?t want this to turn into another war, this one hurting the pocket of the ordinary Afghani citizen,? says Gandhi.