Interview with: Yousaf Amanat, Managing Partner

Any good news coming from Pakistan business wise?

Mining. That’s presently the big news business wise. The USD 11 Billion dispute between Pakistan and Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada has finally been settled in the best way possible. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ratified an Agreement between the Government of Pakistan and Barrick for the restart of the Project. Barrick is a 50% shareholder in the Project with the rest of the shareholding divided between Pakistan’s stated owned entities and the province of Baluchistan.

Having worked in the mining sector both with Barrick Gold and Antofagasta we can tell you that this is going to be massive for Pakistan!!!! It will open one of the most lucrative mining industries of the world. The Tethyan Belt is one of the richest deposits in terms of Gold and Copper. We see various mining companies and other contractors working in Pakistan in the new future.

In your opinion what problems are faced by your clients when dealing with Pakistan?

In our experience the major problems faced by clients is the fear of the unknown when dealing with a litigation or regulators in Pakistan. In instances such as these the client is looking for a trusted partner who is well versed in the law as well as the practical side of dealing with courts and regulators.   This is what we specialize in and this what clients rely on us for. Clients when faced with a litigation or faced with regulators such as the SECP, Competition Commission or LEAs such as the FIA are not looking for legal opinions, what they are looking for are solutions. We specialize in providing solutions. From working on the over all strategy to our presence in courts and tribunal are success rate is 100%.

Data Protection and Privacy are compelling issues internationally. Do you receive queries on these subjects?

Data Protection is our specialty. PECA 2016 and the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2021 are laws that are a cause of concern for many international clients. The Government and security agencies of Pakistan are heavily invested in the use and promulgation of both laws. This year alone we advised Daily Motion, Apple and Choco Communications on both laws. I’m a member of various privacy organizations.

Last year we advised Addleshaw Goddard and their client Generali Global Assistance regarding the storage and transmission of data concerning Pakistani holders of Master Card.

You are recognized for your Employment Law practice but what are the other practices you receive queries for and why would clients prefer you when there are other Firms ranked for the same?

Apart from Employment Law the other queries we receive are for Data Protection, Tax, Company Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal complaints, Competition Law, Arbitration and helping charitable organizations.

We cant rightly comment on why we receive queries for the above practices when there are other Firms ranked for the same BUT we like to think that it is because clients find our rates reasonable and of course our reputation which is fast spreading by word of mouth.

Artificial Intelligence. Your encounters with the same in your practice?

That is a unique question indeed. We had the opportunity to work on a complex assignment with Delivery Hero and Food Panda which brought forth the unregulated phenomenon of Algorithm’s actually controlling and employing workers. The Gig economy like other parts of the world is also booming in Pakistan. We advised Delivery Hero and Food Panda on the risks and liabilities which could materialize under the local employment laws when an algorithm actually controls how Gig workers perform their services.

We also recently advised EASOP a Belgium based tax software on stock options offered by US companies to employees based in Pakistan.

This has been most informative for our readers. Please also tell us do you cover all of Pakistan?

Well we wanted the interview to be of help to your readers. To answer your question, we have an office in Islamabad and Karachi but through our network of trusted associates we have provided representation to clients in KPK, Baluchistan and Punjab. So essentially, we do cover all of Pakistan.