A member of the Global Freedom to Trade Campaign, A. S. Institute, arranged the launch of Freedom to Trade Campaign 2003 on September 4 at Lahore Press Club. Some 50 persons participated in the event out of which more than 30 were journalists representing Urdu and English newspapers and news agencies. It was the first public appearance of the Institute; and, it was the first ever event also organized exclusively to raise a voice in support of free trade in Pakistan from the platform of a think tank.
The banners displaying the ethos of the campaign included: Free Trade is Fair Trade; Freedom to Trade is the Guarantee of Prosperity; Freedom to Trade is Fundamental both for Personal Empowerment and Development for all People in all Countries; Free Trade Frees the People.
The next day on September 5, 2003, three Urdu newspapers covered the event, and four other Urdu and one English paper published the news of the event on various dates. Pakistan Television in its local news bulletin covered the event. Tulu, a weekly of Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan, published a Special Report on the event highlighting the fact that Alternate Solutions Institute, Lahore, is the first ever non-governmental organization in Pakistan favoring and campaigning for the Free Trade. A national English daily, The News, published an article, The Benefits of Free Trade, by Dr. Khalil Ahmad on October 13, 2003.
Representation for Reducing the High Electricity Tariff in Pakistan In August 2003, in response to an advertisement by the Federal Government’s Private Power & Infrastructure Board, A. S. Institute submitted a representation to reduce the high power tariff in Pakistan in which the need for a policy of privatization of the state monopoly over the generation and distribution of electricity and opening of the power sector to private investors in Pakistan was highlighted.
Advocating a Market Economy for Pakistan On December 16, 2003, Khalil Ahamd, President of the Institute, presented a paper “Market Economy: Option for Pakistan” in the Session III: Freedom and Market Economy of a National Seminar on Civil Society and Good Governance at Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan. The seminar was organized by Liberal Forum Pakistan in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation. He drafted the Liberal Position on Market Systems also which was approved by the house.
