KARACHI, Oct 26: At long last, the federal textile ministry is now in the final stages of formation but only with a consultative status in framing of the policies that concern cotton cultivation planning, cotton trading, textile investment, textile promotion and many other related issues.

"The ministry is being formed and notification has been finalised," Mushtaq Cheema, the federal minister designated for textile ministry informed Dawn on Tuesday from Islamabad by telephone. He gave the telephone numbers of the office he managed to obtain recently after a month of swearing in as the cabinet minister but was reluctant to reply when asked as to what are the functions he would exercise.

Mr Cheema was confident of getting all the required staff for his ministry and all the necessary infrastructure facilities that include about over two dozen telephone lines in the office.

The minister remained quiet on the area of the operations of his ministry, but well placed sources in Islamabad made it clear that cotton cultivation--from sowing to ginning - would be the responsibility of the agricultural ministry. The Commerce Ministry would continue to frame policies of cotton trading, import and export of cotton and textile equipment and textile products and the Industries Ministry would supervise investment policies.

International issues related with textile business particularly with special reference to the WTO would continue to be handled by the Commerce Ministry and Textile Ministry may be associated in advisory capacity.

The Textile Ministry would supervise textile board that would give recommendations on cotton cultivation and all allied matters of textile industry. The Textile Commissioner's office will come under the charge of the Textile Ministry.

Sources in Islamabad said that the Cabinet Division is giving final touches on the rules of business for the proposed new ministry after holding consultations with the ministries of food and agriculture, commerce and industry.

As compared to textile ministry in India, and National Textile Council in China, the Textile Ministry in Pakistan is a mere decoration piece without any powers.

In India, the Textile Ministry set up in decade of eighties was responsible for formulating textile policy and coordinate among all the textile sectors. It controls man-made fibre and filament industry, cotton textile industry, jute industry, silk and silk textile industry, wool and woollen industry, decentralised power loom sector, trade and export promotion, planning and economic analysis, integrated finance matters and information technology.

The Chinese Textile Promotion Council has much wider functions to perform as it controls over 80 billion export trade, almost 20 million bales cotton cultivation and manages giant spinning and weaving units besides scattered value added units.

In Pakistan too, the Textile Ministry was visualised as a one window facility that will address all issues from cotton cultivation to end product and international textile business. The textile industry has a large spread and complex linkages. It involves business segments with sharp conflicting interests.

Staring from cotton to garments, and from synthetic raw materials, dyes chemicals to textile machineries, accessories and spares, there are more than 23 sub sectors of textile industry and over 30 super rich textile associations.

In its original working paper, the proposed textile ministry sought control of federal textiles board, textile commissioner's organization, SMEDA and EAC's functions and offices, synthetic fibre development and application centre, thread line gallery, textiles city projects, export development, export marketing development fund functions relating to textiles, textile quota management directorate, textile quota directorate of the EPB, All textile related and EPB funded institutes concerned with skill development, textile testing laboratory, Faisalabad, cotton commissioner's office, central cotton committee and Pakistan Cotton Standards Institute. Initial demand to run the secretariat of the textile ministry was for a federal secretary, four joint secretaries, eight deputy secretaries and section chiefs and 16 assistant chiefs. At present there is only one additional secretary who still sits in his office in the Finance Ministry and two or three junior level supporting staff.

The minister has been made to understand that his responsibilities and functions will be gradually increased.