25 participants of the 15th Mid Career Management course at the Quetta National Management Institute on Tuesday visited the Senate as part of their inland study tour.
The institute is a constituent unit of the National School of Public Policy. The participants were briefed comprehensively by Special Secretary Senate Amjad Pervaiz.
He apprised the participants of the Senate’s and Parliament’s working and answered their questions. He told them that the Parliament had faced many challenges like a discontinuous democratic process, hindered institutional growth due to several military interventions, inability to fulfill the common man’s expectations and curb terrorism, extremism and security lapses in the country.
However, he said that due to the success of the 2013 elections, democracy had been upheld and he hoped that this trend would continue, leading to a more effective and mature democratic system with improved governance.
Talking about the role of standing committees, he said that overlapping committee work resulted in duplicated efforts which slowed down the legislative process.
He felt that it would be more convenient if both Parliament houses had joint committees as it would lessen the burden on the public exchequer. He quoted the example of the Indian Parliament in this regard.
Talking about the Senate’s power and role, he told the participants that Pakistan’s Senate was an effective body. A bill could be generated in either house, and the senate gave its recommendations on the money bill. The National Assembly was more powerful as it was directly elected.
Answering a query, he said that though the senate had equal representation from all four provinces, it had no representation in the Public Accounts Committee. Citing the American senate’s example, he said that a directly elected Senate could enhance the body’s power.
He also talked about the need to train parliamentarians and mentioned the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services which had been established for this purpose.
In the end, he emphasised the need for democracy for the lasting peace, progress and prosperity of the country. The Participants also visited the Senate and National Assembly halls.