Fourth day of the first session of youth parliament of Pakistan culminated in the completion of the ascertainment process for the Leader of the House as well as election for the Deputy Speaker youth parliament Pakistan. A formal inaugural ceremony started with paying homage to 6 martyrs of youth parliament Pakistan who lost their lives in an air crash on July 28, 2010. Addressing the youth parliament at its inaugural session Faisal Karim Kundi, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, said that the youth parliamentarians should take part in policy making process at the national level and the Government and parliament would encourage it.
The Inauguration Session of the 4th youth parliament Pakistan was addressed by Engr. Khuram Dastgir Khan, (NA-96, Gujranwala-II) MNA, Chairman National Assembly Standing committee on Commerce, Nadeem Afzal Gondal, (NA-64, Sargodha-I) MNA, Chairman National Assembly Standing committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, (NA-4, Islamabad-II) MNA, PML-N, Ms. Anusha Rahman Khan, MNA, PML-N, Senator S. M. Zafar, Chairman Steering committee of the youth parliament Pakistan, His Excellency Mr. Uffe Wolffhechel, Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, MrWazir Ahmed Jogezai, former Deputy Speaker National Assembly and Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director-PILDAT.
Kundi, said the political parties can be credited with the performance of the parliament. This parliament, he said, has passed three Constitutional Amendments and 95 bills, majority of which were passed with consensus. The performance of the Standing committees has improved in this parliament and Public Accounts committee is a good example.
He further said that politics is a thankless profession and in our country legislators are doing the work of local governments. The coverage of institutions such as the parliament by the media has been very negative which Kundi said is unfortunate. He appreciated the work undertaken by PILDAT with regards to legislative development and youth participation in politics and democracy. He called upon the members of the youth parliament to take part in the policy making process at the national level. Uffe Wolffhechel, Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, while addressing the youth parliament said that Pakistan is a wonderful country. There is a will to change in the people of Pakistan which is very positive. He concluded by asking the parliamentarians “go out there and make a change.”
Anusha Rahman Khan, MNA, said that parliamentarians cannot perform their duties completely because they are solving daily problems of their constituencies. The role of the parliamentarians is only of giving recommendations. The executive and bureaucracy take major decisions. She advised the youth parliamentarians to not only discuss constitutional and legal issues but also to focus on issues such as electoral reforms. The youth parliament should also take up the issue of elections on a priority basis. Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, MNA, PML-N, said that although the performance of parliamentarians should be gauged on the quality of legislation but it is unfortunate that elections are fought on the basis of development in the constituency of a legislator.
Nadeem Afzal Gondal, MNA, Chairman National Assembly Standing committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, said that although politics is a meaningful profession, politicians are being blamed for everything. Politicians and political parties are very weak due to regular intervention in the democratic process which is unfortunate.
Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, MNA, Chairman National Assembly Standing committee on Commerce and member Steering committee of the youth parliament, started by congratulating the members of the youth parliament for their selection. He said that we have to move away from stereotypes of politics. One of the things one learns at the parliament is that there are different ethnicities, cultures and interpretations of Pakistan in this country. As members of the youth parliament you have to learn to respect this diversity in the country.
Wazir Ahmed Jogezai, former Deputy Speaker National Assembly and Speaker of the youth parliament, Pakistan appreciated the work undertaken by PILDAT with regards to the youth parliament, Pakistan.
Senator S. M. Zafar, Chairman Steering committee of the youth parliament Pakistan, said that this youth parliament is the future parliament of Pakistan. An educated citizen can be a good citizen which is the ultimate goal. He further urged the youth parliamentarians to take decisions based on their conscience because they are the future leaders of the country.
Earlier, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director-PILDAT, began by paying tribute to the six martyred members of the third youth parliament. While explaining the concept of the youth parliament, he said that the concept emerged as a way for young people to “learn by doing,” through taking part in the exercise. It was felt that practice on the benches of a mock parliament can be useful in deciding how to become a more active citizen, either inside or outside formal politics. The six standing committees of the youth parliament will approach their counterpart parliamentary committees in the National Assembly and the Senate. The Members of the youth parliament will be introduced to their respective members of the national assembly and members of the legislative assemblies in the case of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan and an effort will be made to foster a working relationship between the members of the youth parliament and their respective elected MNAs or MLAs both in the parliament at Islamabad and in the constituencies. He said that political parties have generally remained weak due to extended periods of autocratic rules and there is no mechanism to allow young entrants to a party to freely voice their opinions within the party structures.
PILDAT formed the first-ever youth parliament Pakistan in the year 2007. After the successful completion of the three youth parliament terms in 2007, 2008 and 2009, PILDAT has now launched the fourth youth parliament Pakistan 2012. The 4th youth parliament Pakistan is supported by the Danish International Development Agency, Government of Denmark as recognition of the importance of young people’s involvement in democracy and democratic practices.
