Pakistan votes for Israeli resolution

[solid snake]

Pakistan votes for Israeli resolution



By Masood Haider

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11: Pakistan on Tuesday surprised the Muslim nations by voting for a resolution sponsored by Israel in a committee of the UN General Assembly. Most Muslim countries abstained.

Although the resolution sponsored by Israel and European nations related to “agricultural technology for development,” most Arab envoys said that until the issue of occupied territories was resolved, they cannot support any Israeli-sponsored resolution.

The resolution was adopted with 118 in favour and 29 abstentions.

Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman hailed the adoption of the resolution saying that a new spirit of cooperation existed among member states. He chastised South Africa for voting against the resolution.

No one from the Pakistan mission was available to comment on the vote.

Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram was away in Bali (Indonesia) to attend the UN climate change meeting.

Pakistan votes for Israeli resolution -DAWN - Top Stories; December 12, 2007



How did this happen? Is this a sign of things to come? Why would Pakistan suddenly vote for an Israeli resolution out of the blue?

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

A very pragmatic decision.

Good that the ostriches have been abandoned!

One wonders why South Africa voted against the resolution.

 

[IceCold]

Remember isreali pm suddenly out of the blue congrulated musharraf on his second win for president. How many times in the past did we see that? Indeed something is cooking.

 

[ejaz007]

Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. How can we vote for a country we do not even recognize.

 

[sparten]

Grow up all of you. The resolution was for "agriculture technology development" and UN support. We just happen to be working very hard in this field, with some success, I might add, Bahawalpur, once the desert state, is now an agri hub. Serioulsy maybe we should stop breathing oxygen because the Israelis do so?

 

[Cheetah786]

WHAT , U N O wht is that??? pakistan is going to lose its honnor by doing voting in of favour ISRAEL.

1000% PAKISTAN will GOING to lose its support within its ARAB freinds.

by the way what pakistan will get????


may be thats the diplomatic end of , ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN.

and COULD BE start of MUSHARF REBUBLIC OF PAKISTAN????


MAY ALLAH send some hidayat to musharf!

OH MY GAWD ITS THE end of the world.oh noooooooooooooo Arabs will get upset ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooo we should hang musharaf he is taking pakistan towards civilization how dare he.
Unbelieveable

 

[Majnun]

Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. How can we vote for a country we do not even recognize.

Pakistan does recognize Israel now.

 

[blain2]

Pakistan does recognize Israel now.

No we don't.

This resolution is something totally different. We did not vote for Israel here (and it has no political overtones). Rather an initiative that they sponsored which for Pakistan, being a agro-centric country, makes good sense. The more technology infusion Pakistan can get, the lesser the wastage in crop production and agriculture.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

The more technology infusion Pakistan can get, the lesser the wastage in crop production and agriculture.

Which reminds me - are we ever going to move towards the Biotech seeds India has been using for years and has utilized so well to boost its crop production?

Last I heard was that Pakistani institutions wanted a crack at developing their own variants, rather than produce them under "license" as the Indians and others seem to be doing. I understand that they are only good for one use, and the problem with this indecision is that farmers are using smuggled seed, and then replanting them the next year resulting in poor crops, since there is no official program to educate them on its proper use.

Perhaps the government should be pragmatic and swallow the extra cost associated with utilizing the existing seed, while continuing to develop its own variants.

 

[Energon]

I'm surprised that so many Muslim states abstained from voting for a resolution that may actually be beneficial to them. Israel is an agricultural wonder not to mention on the forefront of technology.

Pakistan put the social/political animosity aside and voted in favor of something that will benefit it's people in the long run... that is a sign of good leadership and decision making.

Which reminds me - are we ever going to move towards the Biotech seeds India has been using for years and has utilized so well to boost its crop production?

Last I heard was that Pakistani institutions wanted a crack at developing their own variants, rather than produce them under "license" as the Indians and others seem to be doing. I understand that they are only good for one use, and the problem with this indecision is that farmers are using smuggled seed, and then replanting them the next year resulting in poor crops, since there is no official program to educate them on its proper use.

Perhaps the government should be pragmatic and swallow the extra cost associated with utilizing the existing seed, while continuing to develop its own variants.

Modified seeds have been used in India for quite some time, and they have certainly garnered good yields in many places; but in general the biggest impediment is still the lack of adequate infrastructure. In some places like Vidharba, water management is abysmal, which is why even expensive genetically modified seeds don't really amount to much. Transportation networks are also poor on account of substandard roads and red tape which results in a lot of wastage. The other problem with some seed variants is that they were engineered to suit the conditions in the country of their origin (usually in the west) and aren't all that effective in the subcontinent. The BT cotton seeds for instance are designed for the southern states of the USA where cotton production was very popular. They are now aggressively marketed to farmers in central India who pay a lot of money for it but don't really enjoy all it's supposed benefits.

This is why IMO India needs to put it's social and political hubris aside, take charge and start producing variants specifically with south Asia in mind instead of mass producing reverse engineered foreign variants. If they can collaborate with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and possibly Afghanistan, it might actually end up being a highly profitable venture which will also alleviate the problems a lot of farmers in the region.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Energon,

Very informative post. That actually explains the reluctance of the GoP to move towards BT seeds, keeping India's experience in mind, and their desire to develop their own variants. And I agree - this would be an excellent project for South Asian nations to cooperate on.

 

[Spring Onion]

Agreed with Sparten and Blain and even if Pakistan does not benefit from the Agri Tech of Israel, the resoultion is surely gonna help some poor countries arround the world and hence its good that Pakistan voted in favour of it. a good move atleast thousands of hungry people might get benefit of outcome all the development if followed due to this resolution and i DO Not See Any Harm in voting for the following resolution

1. Calls upon Member States, especially those in a position to do so, and relevant United Nations organizations to make greater efforts to promote the development and transfer of appropriate technologies in and to developing countries under fair, transparent and mutually agreed terms, as well as to support national efforts to foster the effective utilization of local know-how and technology and promote agricultural research and technologies to enable poor rural men and women to increase agricultural productivity and enhanced food security;

2. Underlines the need for Member States to make their knowledge and know-how in the field of agricultural technology and agricultural innovation systems more accessible, in particular to poor people, subject to appropriate arrangements;

3. Reiterates that the eradication of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, in particular as they affect children, is crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and that rural and agricultural development should be an integral part of national and international development policies, calls for increased productive investment in rural and agricultural development to achieve food security, in this regard calls for enhanced support for agricultural development and trade capacity-building in the agricultural sector in developing countries, including by the international community and the United Nations system, and encourages support for commodity development projects, especially market-based projects, and for their preparation under the Second Account of the Common Fund for Commodities;

4. Notes with satisfaction the contribution made by the “Technology for Agriculture” initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

5. Urges the relevant bodies of the United Nations system to support the efforts of Member States, in particular developing countries, to take full advantage of new knowledge in agricultural technology, agricultural innovation, research and development to achieve relevant Millennium Development Goals, specifically the eradication of poverty and hunger;

6. Calls upon public and private institutions to further develop improved varieties of crops that are appropriate for various regions, especially those challenged by environmental factors, including climate change, and to develop and manage these crops in a sustainable manner, and calls for further efforts by all
stakeholders to ensure that improved crop varieties are made available and affordable to smallholder farmers in a manner consistent with national regulations and relevant international agreements;

7. Underscores the importance of support to agricultural research, and calls for continued support to international agricultural research systems, including the International Agricultural Research Centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, as well as other relevant international
organizations;

8. Recognizes the importance of relevant institutions providing effective mechanisms for public-private agricultural advisory services, as well as extension, financial and market services to farmers, in particular smallholder farmers, so that the benefits of new knowledge, agricultural innovation systems and improved
technology may reach them and be used by them;

9. Invites Member States, especially those in a position to do so, and relevant regional and international organizations to allocate financial and technical resources to support the development of efficient, productive and environmentally sound technologies for sustainable agriculture in developing countries;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution.

 

[PakistaniPatriot]

WHAT , U N O wht is that??? pakistan is going to lose its honnor by doing voting in of favour ISRAEL.

1000% PAKISTAN will GOING to lose its support within its ARAB freinds.

by the way what pakistan will get????

Forgive me for asking janto janab but exactly how many of our Arab friends have actually supported Pakistan. And you spelled honor incorrectly. I actually think this is a good idea because Pakistan is a country rich in agriculture, which makes Pakistan handful of countries which produce Basmati rice and awesome mangoes etc.

 

[fatman17]

Guys its all about IPRs. (Intellectual Property Rights). if the GoP can guarantee this, I for one who is very closely related to this business can state with authority that companies like Monsanto & the one i work for are more than willing to transfer the technology for cotton, rice and vegetables which can double the crop production of our country.

 

[yarmook]

We dont need arab support, these arabs are the ones who during the crisis of 2002 came forward except Saudis to make India a permenant member of OIC.

WHat are you guys smoking? No more arab support we are on our own. Arabs are absolutely jeopardize at the hands of Indian Govt. Indian workers and its pathetic people.