Over the years, through the Helpline Trust activities, I have interacted with Governors, CMs, Administrators, CEOs, Army Generals, Brigadiers, Principal and First Secretaries, etc., and have found very few who were truly committed to improve the quality of life of the citizens. Majority of them were just interested in giving lip service or to go against the establishment and take effective steps to improve the system or their services. However, this has not been the case this time, at least in Karachi. Except for the police, those who are looking after the affairs of this City of Lights and its bursting population, are genuinely trying to improve the quality of life of the citizens. We might not agree with some of the MQM policies and their way of 'enforcing the law, but we cannot paint them all with the same brush. And it was in this connection that in the last two weeks, senior members of Helpline Trust had separate meetings with the DHA Administrator, CEO, CBC, Dr. Farooq Sattar and the soft spoken, but no nonsense, dynamic Nasreen Jaleel, the Naib Nazim of Karachi. I knew the lady much before she became a 'political person, as her son, Umer, knick named Muchar, a shy lanky lad with unruly hair and a mischievous smile, was in the same class as my daughter in the Karachi Grammar School and a frequent visitor to the house with his four Musketeer friends. Since then, we have interacted with each other and Madam Jaleel has always been supportive of our programs. Though a strike had been announced that day, the meeting was held on schedule and when we arrived at the old magnificent, but deserted KMC building, we found the Naib Nazim waiting for us. Without fuss or wasting time, she asked us what she could do for us. Having dealt with the lady before, I had come prepared and handed her our agenda, which raised the issue of the lack of Consumer Protection Laws and Consumer Courts in Sindh and a draft copy of a press release. We informed the Naib Nazim that the Ordinance had been prepared by Helpline Trust back in 2003 and had been signed by the sitting Governor in October 04, but had lapsed, as it was not presented to the Sindh Assembly for ratification. After that, the Governor had signed the Ordinance at least thrice, but each time it had lapsed for the same reason and we have been chasing the Ordinance since then. We pointed out that due to the lack of consumer protection laws and enforcement of existing food and drug laws, the markets are flooded with substandard, look alike and counterfeit products and Pakistan has become a dumping ground for semi expired food, beverages and medicines. Callous manufacturers cheat consumers with glossy, misleading and unethical advertisements, wrong labeling, etc. We explained that a recent survey had shown that up to 40% of the goods, including medicines, are substandard, adulterated or counterfeit. The government is also loosing over Rs. 30 billion per year in revenue in the form of taxes, excise duties, etc., as most of these manufacturers of spurious and counterfeit products are not registered and do not pay taxes. The next item on the agenda had been a mobile milk testing van, equipped with a cost effective, easy to use milk testing kit. We pointed out that due to the nura-kushti between the City Government and the wholesale and retailers over the price of fresh milk, the milk being sold in the market was adulterated and contaminated. We then moved on the next item on the agenda, which was KESC and the water problems facing the residents of Karachi, especially Defence and Clifton. Through out the meeting, she sat quietly, making brief notes. Once we had finished, she picked her mobile phone and made a call to the personal assistance to the Governor and the next, to the EDO Health. She informed them the purpose of our visit and requested them to contact us and set up a meeting with the Governor and the EDO, Health and take appropriate action as soon as possible. Regarding KESC and the shortage of water in the city, she said it was a little more complicated and she would revert back to us. The entire meeting had not taken more then thirty minutes and by the end of the week, both the meetings had been arranged and now we wait patiently for the next stage. What I fail to understand is, all the provinces in Pakistan have realized the importance of the Law in protecting the rights of the consumers, yet the Sindh government, which claims to represents the poor, is reluctant to legislate the Consumer Protection Law and Consumer Courts in Sindh. Whatever the outcome of our meeting is, one must give credit where it is due. I have come across the same hands down efficiency from Mustaffa Kamal, our enterprising City Nazim. The only difference with Mr. Kamal is, he wants to be Superman and be everywhere at the same time. My first encounter with the Nazim had been during the recording of Dawns 30:30 TV program. The subject under discussion had been Karachis traffic mess and each speaker had thirty seconds to raise an issue or give an answer. The Nazims main defence for the traffic problems was due to massive encroachments, a corrupt police force and that they was not under his jurisdiction and only 30% of the city was under the CDGKs control, as such he was helpless to control the traffic. My answer to that was that, though most of his explanations were valid, but the biggest traffic problem was in the parts that were under his control. At the same time, the City Government had started too many development projects and there was a time that the entire city seemed dug up and it was almost impossible to move form one point to another without having a nervous breakdown. This Superman attitude of 'see it all, fix it all has also led to shoddy and substandard work and there are already reports of cracks and collapses in some of the recently built flyovers and underpasses. We had continued to keep in touch and worked together on the traffic issue with the help of Jamil Yousuf, former Chief of CPLC. He too had done a lot to safe guard the interests of the citizens at the risk of his own life and his unceremonious removal as Chief was very inappropriate. What was also sad was that except for a few, nobody had protested against his removal. E-mail: trust@super.net.pk