Exports group wins Queen’s recognition for second year

Her Majesty is graciously pleased to award the most coveted award for business, the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2010 to Sun Mark Ltd for a second year. It is a rare achievement by any company to win such a prestigious award, especially for a second consecutive year (2009 and 2010).

This Queen's Award for Enterprise symbolizes the strength and credibility of the company and its positive contribution to the British economy. The company's sales continue to grow despite the global downturn as a result of the financial meltdown. The company's turnover grew by over 45% last year and is fast approaching £100 million. It is a considerable achievement by any standards, especially when the company started trading just 15 years ago.

The company exports British supermarket products to over 90 countries with staggering results and market penetration. Needless to say, due to its export activities, it not only generates wealth and employment for Britain directly, but also helps the growth of other British companies which are connected with its export activities, such as transport, shipping and manufacturing.

The Managing Director, Dr. Rami Ranger MBE, is optimistic that his company, which is a leading force in exports, will continue to drive hard and be a recipient of many more such awards for sustainable growth and excellence. He said the second Rami Ranger MBE, is optimistic that his company, which is a leading force in exports, will continue to drive hard and be a recipient of many more such awards for sustainable growth and excellence. He said the second award shows that 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'.

Seminar

House of Lords hosts seminar on Gilgit and Baltistan

Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne chaired a meeting in the House of Lords on the proposed change of status to Gilgit and Baltistan, with its wider implications for the region and internationally. A diverse audience gathered for the debate, and three eminent speakers sat on the panel: Dr Shabir Choudhry, Director of the Kashmir National Party; Mohammed Sarwar, Chief Editor of The Nation; and Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of the Balawaristan National Front.

The proceedings opened with a speech by Dr Choudry, who was critical of Pakistan's role in Gilgit Baltistan. He focused on various points, most notably human rights and self-governance within the region and the EU's role in helping to promote them; the area's strategic, geographical and cultural importance; its constitutional status as part of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir; and the fact that the struggle for self-determination is not based on religious grounds.

Mr Mohammed Sarwar was more ambivalent, claiming that the Pakistani Government deserved 'some credit' for 'moving to redress at least some of the local grievances against the system of governance and the delivery of justice' in the region, whilst also conceding that the people of Gilgit Baltistan have no clear constitutional status or the rights that go with such status. The entire Kashmir region, he said, should be a single unit whose status and administration should be decided only by the Kashmiri people themselves. Yet the issue could only be resolved through a three-way dialogue between them, India and Pakistan.

Abdul Hamid Khan was very open in his condemnation of Pakistan, denouncing the recent 'Fifth Package' the country has devised for Gilgit Baltistan, as it would 'create more deprivation, lack of justice and snatch our freedom,' he said.

He also sent out a grave warning to the West, stating that the Pakistani Army's 'multipronged strategy' of terrorism and fundamentalism in this disputed region threatens not only the lives and property of the indigenous people, but also places 'the co-existence and tolerance of the world community on a dangerous level'.

Recognising that the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan are 'on the same disputed boat', struggling against a common enemy, Mr Khan called for them to support each other, whilst still maintaining separate national identities and cultures, and accepting that unity can be achieved without enforced union.

To sum up, he made an impassioned appeal for the UK, EU and UN to apply pressure on China and Pakistan to withdraw their forces from Gilgit Baltistan, allowing the people of the region to decide their own destiny by a free referendum. Only then, he said, could any future conflict be avoided on the wider world.

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