15 October 2004	Friday	29 Shaban 1425

PESHAWAR, Oct 14: The Pakistan Mazdoor Kissan Party will hold a two-day international anti-imperialism conference from Nov 27 in Lahore.

The party's president Afzal Khamosh said at a news conference at the press club on Thursday that United States occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan had caused discontentment in the developing and poor countries.

He said the US and its allies were also threatening Sudan, Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria, which was a matter of grave concern for the poor countries. The conference, he said, would take stock of the situation and make recommendations to end the monopoly of the imperialist forces.

Another aim of the conference, he said, was to spread awareness about the role of the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund. He said the organizations were tools of the imperialist forces that exploited the poor countries.

He said multinational pharmaceutical companies adopted unethical and illegal promotional practices for marketing of their products but the governments in the developing countries were unable to check such activities.

He said delegates from the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Nepal, India and Afghanistan had confirmed their participation in the conference. He said the delegates would also speak on the military operation in South Waziristan.

He said the conference would be the first event of its kind in the country. He said the rich countries were exploiting the wealth of the poor by formulating laws that suited their interests. He said a rally would be staged after the conference.