Pakistan Fields One
of the Largest Teams to
UN Meeting
By Khalid Hasan
Washington,
DC: The 10-member delegation of women, three of them members
of the ruling party from Islamabad, that has been in New
York since last month could be one of the largest at the
routine yearly session of the UN Commission on the Status
of Women.
Led by Minister of State for Health Begum Shehnaz Sheikh,
the delegation includes three officials from the Women’s
Development Ministry from Islamabad, including its secretary,
plus three MPAs, representing Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP
Reports indicate that most of the members have had little
to do. The large delegation is also taxing the limited resources
of Pakistan’s permanent mission to the UN, with five
of its officers, apart from members of staff, pressed into
service to take care of the visiting ladies. So far, the
delegation has made little contribution to the larger women’s
cause, except to extol the achievements of women under Pervez
Musharraf’s government and praise the president.
The delegation members are: Begum Shahnaz Sheikh, Mahmmod
Saleem Mahmood, Secretary, Ministry of Women’s Development,
plus Rehana Hashmi and Aliya Nazir, also from the same ministry;
Farukh Khan, Yaqut Jamil-ur-Rehman and Nosheen Saeed, all
from PML Islamabad; Manzar Rawal (Sindh MPA), Sameen Mahmood
Jan (NWFP MPA) and Rubina Irfan (Balochistan MPA).
The Commission meeting, which started on February 26, will
end on March 9. (Courtesy Daily Times)
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