Post by Fahad Khan Sherwani

I am pleased to share my latest article: 𝙋𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝘿𝙍𝘾: 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙁𝙄𝘿𝙍𝙚𝘾 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 The recent stakeholder consultation hosted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on the proposed Financial Services Dispute Resolution Centre represents a significant step forward for Pakistan's financial and commercial justice framework. The consultation brought together an impressive group of stakeholders, including SECP Chairman Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu, SECP Commissioners Muzzafar Ahmed Mirza, Ali Farid Khwaja, CFA, Imtiaz Haider, and Zeeshan Rehman Khattak, alongside Justice (R) Mushir Alam, Justice Jawad Hassan, representatives of the Ministry of Law and Justice (Raja Naeem Akbar, Hilal-e-Imtiaz), financial market institutions, ADR practitioners, and international partners. Special recognition is also due to the teams from Commercial Law Development Program (CLPD) and FIDReC Singapore, including Aleena Nasir, Dave, Emily, and Kenneth, for sharing international perspectives and contributing to discussions on institutional design, capacity building, and global best practices in financial dispute resolution. The consultation further benefited from the participation of stakeholders from Pakistan Stock Exchange - PSX , Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited - PMEX , Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC), National Clearing Company of Pak Ltd. (NCCPL) , Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan, Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP), legal practitioners, mediators, arbitrators, and financial sector experts. Although I was unable to attend the consultation personally, the initiative and the valuable insights shared by participants inspired me to examine how Pakistan can benefit from international best practices, particularly Singapore's FIDReC model. In this article, I explore the proposed DRC framework, lessons from comparative jurisdictions, and key considerations relating to independence, accessibility, enforceability, transparency, institutional design, and capacity building. I look forward to hearing the views of professionals working in ADR, financial regulation, capital markets, banking, insurance, and commercial dispute resolution on what Pakistan's first Financial Services DRC should get right at launch. #SECP #CLDP #FIDReC #PSX #CDC #NCCPL #PMEX #MUFAP #ADR #Mediation #Arbitration #FinancialServices #DisputeResolution #CapitalMarkets #InvestorProtection #CommercialJustice #Pakistan #Law