May 16, 2006	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1427

KARACHI, May 15: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has urged the ministry of commerce to resolve the issue of Basmati trade mark at the earliest. In a statement issued here on Monday, Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver suggested that the issue should be resolved in the forthcoming meeting of all rice stakeholders being held in Islamabad on Thursday.

He demanded that the Basmati trade mark be declared the property of the country and by virtue of this all citizens were entitled to use it on the produce for marketing purposes in domestic and world markets.

Mr Thaver said that by asserting the fact that Pakistani Basmati rice was the trade mark of Pakistan, the ambiguity over its right with Indian Basmati rice would be resolved and cleared once for all.

The Unisame chief requests the commerce minister not to entrust the Basmati certification to any association, as it gives rise to conflict of interest.