The government of NWFP has confirmed the services of more than five
thousand contract employees. The bill was introduced in the
Provincial Assembly and passed . Although legally all these
employees stood confirmed and regularized, the departments concerned
are not issuing notification which is creating problems for these
employees. These include more than 2000 teachers and their contracts
have ended in early October. It is why these employees are not
getting salaries from October. In Batkhela these employees were
summoned to the EDO Office and told by a person who had come from
the Directorate at Peshawar, not to go to schools till further
orders as their services stand terminated from the date of expiry of
their contracts. These employees request through your esteemed
newspaper to Chief Minister, Education Minister of NWFP to take
personal interest in the matter and order for the issuance of
notification, so these teachers or other employees may attend their
duties and the precious time of the students who have already
suffered a lot, is not lost.—Thana Malakand Agency
World Trade Organisation
Saima Ali
The world trade organization (WTO) is global international
organization which deals with the rules between trades within
different nations of the world. At its core are world trade
organization (WTO) agreements, negotiated and signed by accumulation
of world’s trading nations and sanctioned in their parliaments by
different members of the trade world. The most important purpose of
world trade organization is to assist producers of goods and
services, exporters, and importers to conduct their business in a
fair environment.
The world trade organization offer opportunity for negotiating
agreements which are focused mainly at reducing obstacles to
international trade and ensuring a fair trade between different
nations and level playing field for all, thus contributing to
economic growth and development. The world trade organization also
presents a legal and institutional structure for implementation and
monitoring of these agreements, and also helps in settling clashes
arising from their interpretation and application. The recent body
of trade agreements including the world trade organization consists
of sixteen different multilateral agreements and two different
plurilateral agreements.
Over the past 60 years, the world trade organization which was
established in 1995, and its forerunner organization the GATT have
assisted to create a strong and prosperous international trading
system for the nations of the world and with respect to this they
also contributed to unprecedented global economic growth aswell. The
world trade organization presently comprises of 153 members of whom
117 are from developing nations of the world or separate customs
territories. The activities of world trade organization are
supported by secretariat of some 700 staff, led by world trade
organization director general and the secretariat of world trade
organization and located in Geneva, Switzerland and has an annual
budget of approximately 180 million dollar which is around 130
million pounds. There are three official language of world trade
organization which are English, French and Spanish.
Mainly the decisions in the world trade organization are taken by
agreements of the whole the members of world trade organization
parliament. The highest institutional body is the ministerial
conference, which usually get together roughly every two years. A
general council is liable for conducting organization’s business in
the period between ministerial conferences. Both of these bodies
consist of all the members. Specialised subsidiary bodies such as
councils, committees and sub committees which also comprises of all
the members, administer and observe the implementation by members of
the various world trade organization agreements. More specifically,
the WTO’s main activities are: 1) Negotiating the reduction of
obstacles to trade (import tariffs, other barriers to trade) and
agreeing on rules governing the conduct of international trade (e.g.
antidumping, subsidies, product standards, etc.) 2) Administering
and monitoring the application of the World trade organization
agreed rules for trade in goods, trade in services, and
trade-related intellectual property rights. 3) Monitoring and
reviewing the trade policies of our members, as well as ensuring
transparency of regional and bilateral trade agreements4) Settling
disputes among all the members regarding the interpretation and
application of the agreements 5) Building capacity of developing
country government officials in international trade matters6)
Assisting the process of accession of some 30 countries who are not
yet members of the organization 7) Conducting economic research and
collecting and disseminating trade data in support of the World
trade organization’s other main activities. 8) Explaining to and
enlightening the public about the World trade organization, its
mission and its activities.
The main important aim of world trade organization is to resolve
trade issue or conflicts which often arises between nations while
opening trade boundaries for each other including those painstaking
negotiation in the world trade organization system and those issue
or conflicts often needs interpreting. The most satisfying way to
settle these differences or conflicts is through some neutral
procedure based on an agreed legal underpinning. That is the major
purpose behind the dispute settlement process written into the world
trade organization agreements. Hence there are a number of ways of
looking at the WTO. It’s an organization for liberalizing trade.
It’s a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements. It’s a
place for them to settle trade disputes. It operates a system of
trade rules.—Islamabad
Pakistan foreign & defence policy
Saima Khan
The mission for security has been at the heart of Pakistan’s foreign
and defence policy since independence. Pakistan’s security
environment derives its origins from the circumstances in which
Pakistan was created. The violence accompanying the segment leading
to the appearance of the two self-governing states of Pakistan and
India generated hostility, which continues to afflict relations
between the two countries mainly because of the unsettled issue of
Jammu and Kashmir. The issue is the foundation of continuing
tensions and conflict, and shaped the unbalanced and tense security
environment in the region
The historical perspective of Pakistan’s foreign and defence policy
falls in five broad phases. First period covers the time from the
united nation enforced cease-fire of 1949 to the 1965 war over
Kashmir. During this period Pakistan allied itself with the West by
joining the Baghdad Pact and its descendant, CENTO, and SEATO. The
primary motivation underlying our membership of these alliances had
been the need to redress our defence vulnerability and achieve a
reasonable military equilibrium with India.
The second phase runs from 1965 to the 1971 crisis in East Pakistan.
The 1965 war, which was sparked by the Jammu and Kashmir issue, had
led to a drastic reduction in economic and military assistance to
Pakistan. The increase in defence expenditure together with the
decline in foreign assistance compounded economic difficulties and
aggravated political problems led by a sense of alienations in East
Pakistan. India played on this crisis and eventually imposed war on
Pakistan. During the third phase from 1971 to 1989 Pakistan remained
engaged in rebuilding itself and facing the challenge of the Soviet
military intervention in neighbouring Afghanistan, which lasted for
over a decade since 1979, and has spawned a conflict that continues
to ravage Afghanistan.
The fourth phase covers the period from 1990 to the nuclear tests of
May 1998. Two important events from the security perspective took
place in 1990. USA clamped economic and military sanctions on
Pakistan under the prissier Amendment (which widened the
conventional gap between India and Pakistan). That same year the
strengthening of the freedom movement in occupied Kashmir. The last
two years, the current phase, have witnessed important developments
in Pakistan’s foreign and defence policy. These includes prime
Minister, Nawaz Sharif’s initiative to resume bilateral dialogue
with India soon after taking office, the nuclear tests that
radically altered the security environment of South Asia last year,
the security dialogue with the united States and the crisis in
Kargil. These developments, together with the continuing conflict in
Afghanistan, represent the major preoccupations of our policy
makers. Meanwhile, trade and economy have acquired increasing
importance in our foreign relations. Pakistan put together a special
value to its relations with Islamic countries and is dedicated
unreservedly to all Muslim causes and the strengthening of
cooperation among Islamic countries. This has been an unshakeable
pillar of our foreign and defence policy of Pakistan. Pakistan has
earned the esteem of the Islamic world for its consistent and
effective advocacy of Muslim causes, especially at the United
Nations. The conflict in Afghanistan has also been a continuing
foundation of concern to us. Pakistan has suffered more than any
other country from the continuation of the conflict there. For us,
vital security interests are linked to stability on our western and
northern borders. We therefore seek peace, stability and national
reconciliation in Afghanistan. This will open new opportunities in
our economic and commercial relations with the Central Asian States.
At present the conflict in Afghanistan stands in the way of
developing these ties. Pakistan is dedicated to the continuous
development of beneficial and strong ties with all major powers. Our
friendly collaboration with China is exemplary. Our ties with the
United States have a long history of cooperation, which need to be
reinforced in the new post cold war situation. The transformed
global environment must also define and strengthen our relations
with Russia. The European Union and Far East and South East Asia are
emerging as new economic power centres and major partners of
Pakistan in trade, economic and technological cooperation. Our
foreign policy is designed to integrate Pakistan into the new global
dispensation where trade, economic and technological development and
the information revolution have assumed primacy. Relations with
China continue to be one of the pillars of our foreign policy.
Another important responsibility of Pakistanis Missions abroad is
the welfare of overseas Pakistanis. Overseas Pakistanis constitute
an important instrument for achieving our economic and other
objectives; they can play an important role in projecting Pakistan’s
image abroad, encouraging foreign investment through their own
investment in Pakistan, and in lobbying on behalf of their country,
particularly in the Western democracies. Promoting a better
understanding and knowledge abroad of Pakistan, and promoting
progress and prosperity of its people through trade and development
continues to be a major preoccupation of Pakistan’s foreign and
defence policy.—Islamabad
MNS-join PPP-AZ
W Waheeda
The Gilgit-Baltistan election results favor PPP-AZ. MQM and ML-Q
have voiced strong protest of massive rigging but feeble and
cosmetic by ML-N .I consider the result of above elections as
personal reflection of Nawaz Sharifs’ one eyed, one legged, one
armed, purple blind unqualified ‘mumafti’ anti poor,anti nation
politics. By giving his mumafti shoulder to PPP-AZ,MR Zardari,MR
Galani,he has ruined economy, ruined poor into abject misery, made
us slaves to rampant corruption,IMF,WB,drones,India,UK,USA and now
KLB.It was people and smaller parties who stood up against NRO, KLB
and ML-N only joined the caravan when it had reached his
destination.I think to protect his vested interest of business
empire, he may join the bandwagon of NRO-2.
His diehard admirers are getting disappointed for not defending the
miseries of ninety percent poor for his appeasement policy to
PPP-AZ, Mr Zardari and MR Galani (while they perish). His interviews
after his dinners in Preident and PM,houses identifying grey areas
is just eyewashes which people know very well and sick of it.ML-N
and Nawaz Sharif must learn the lesson of their failure in
Gilgit-Baltistan.He is heading for similar results in Punjab. Why
does not he join PPP-AZ when he gives them unqualified ‘five years’
even though country is derailed much less democracy? —Faisalabad
Chief Justice requested
Murad Ali Mohmand
Through your newspaper I would like to request the Chief Justice of
Pakistan to take suo motu action against the decision of Government
of Pakistan higher authorities for the closing down of the CNG
stations for two days in Country which is going to affect million of
peoples. Millions of vehicles have been converted to be used through
CNG but now the government has taken reverse action over it. Our
country is facing the issues and problems in every sector of life
from personal to official and every where. The Chief Justice of
Pakistan is requested to please take the action against the CNG
stations closure for two days and find out the solution for it. We
have high crisis in power plants and specially electricity load
shedding in summer and now in winter CNG problem.
The rulers are requested to find out the proper solution instead of
making it short for the people like sugar crisis. Now in our country
we are begging for the Sugar and we have high crisis. Country is
full of Sugar but it has been stored by million of people and the
owners of the Sugar Millers have earned 62 billion according to a
news report. Its strange and amazing. The Govt has also raised the
quote of sugar to Utility Store but it disappeared from the Utility
Store and most of the Mangers etc are selling it on black rates in
the market. Every where black business in our society but there is
no body to take action and government is no more interested to find
out the solution of any problem. They are interested to sort out
their own issues with PML-N, PPP, etc but no real work for the
community etc The Judiciary should play their active role.—Peshawar
