|
Third
Session
May
09-13, 2007, Islamabad
Background
of Youth Parliament Pakistan
PILDAT
conceived the idea, facilitated the formation and now serves
as the secretariat of Youth Parliament Pakistan.
The Youth
Parliament, which came into being in January 2007 has
stimulated the interest of 60 young Pakistani men and women,
aged between 18 and 29, from across the country in the welfare
of their nation, encouraged active democratic citizenship and
provided a non-partisan opportunity through the parliamentary
process to gain a practical educational experience in
leadership, public speaking and debate on issues of concern to
young people in Pakistan. Senator Mohammedmian Soomro,
Chairman Senate as patron of Youth Parliament Pakistan
inaugurated the first session on January 25, 2007 while three
subsequent sessions have been held in March, May and July
addressed among others by Rt. Honourable Mr. David Miliband,
MP and current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs, UK.
The Third
Session
The third
session presided by former Speaker National Assembly of
Pakistan Mr. Illahi Bux Soomro met in Islamabad from
Wednesday May 09 to Sunday May 13, 2007 at the Hotel Best
Western, Islamabad. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Leader
of the Opposition in the Senate of Pakistan addressed the
members of the Youth Parliament at the second sitting on the
“State of Democracy in Pakistan and the way forward” while
Mr. Javed Hasan Aly, Former Task Leader, New Education
Policy Review, addressed the members at the fourth sitting on
“The State of Education and the New Education Policy
coinciding with the topics of debate at the sittings. The MYPs
visited the National Assembly of Pakistan and observed the
proceedings of the House and engaged in an informal discussion
with the National Assembly Secretariat staff on issues related
to parliamentary practices and procedures. The Youth Prime
Minister who had accepted the resignations of his six-member
cabinet after adjournment of session two announced his new
six-member cabinet at the commencement of session three. The
six Standing Committees (SCs) on Foreign Affairs & Defence;
Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs; Education, Health and
Environment; Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs;
Information; and Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights
also held meetings during the session. The SC on Culture,
Sports and Youth Affairs discussed the proposal for YP Youth
Policy and the Youth Charter of Democracy; The SC on Law,
Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights discussed the issues
related to Federalism and Quantum of Provincial Autonomy; The
SC Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs debated the
proposals for the National Finance Commission Award; The SC on
Education reviewed the New Education Policy; The SC on
Foreign Affairs & Defence reviewed the issues related to
Pakistan’s Foreign Policy; and the SC on Information looked at
strategies for a media policy. Altogether fourteen
resolutions, two calling attention notices and three motions
were discussed and passed during the five day session.
The First
Sitting
The third
session held its first sitting on Wednesday May 09, 2007 at
which the new six-member cabinet announced by the Youth Prime
Minister was administered oath by the Speaker Mr Illahi Bakhsh
Soomro. The members of the new cabinet who took oath include
Ms. Aatika Nagrah (YP06-ICT01) as Youth Minister for
Health, Education and Environment, Mr. Syed Ali Raza
(YP44-PUNJAB26) as Youth Minister for Law, Parliamentary
Affairs and Human Rights; Ms. Nida Khan (YP14-NWFP03)
as Youth Minister for Information; Mr. Zaka Zahid Shafiq
(YP60-SINDH13) as Youth Minister for Foreign Affairs and
Defence; and Mr. Shahzad Zaheer (YP10-ICT05) as Youth
Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs.
The House
commenced its proceedings with the question hour. Responding
to the questions the Youth Minister for Culture, Sports and
Youth Affairs Mr. Riaz Hussain Wassan (YP57-Sindh10)
informed Mr. Qaisar Mahmood Gondal (YP40-PUNJAB22) that
there were 27 members of the National Assembly of Pakistan
(8%) under the age of 30 when they were elected to the current
National Assembly in 2002; and the turnout in terms of numbers
and percentage of youth voters during the last five elections
to the National Assembly of Pakistan is not available as the
Election Commission of Pakistan which is the constitutional
body managing the elections in Pakistan does not provide data
which shows the number of youth voters during the past five
elections to the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Mr. Hammad
Khan Marri (YP53-SINDH06) and Afshan Laeeque Khan
(YP48-Sindh01)
jointly moved a resolution that the Government should take
immediate steps concerning the power shortage resulting in
power breakdowns including in the metropolitan city of Karachi
affecting the public miserably during the on-going summer
season. After a fervent debate criticizing the poor planning
and management of the government related to the power shortage
and frequent electricity breakdowns adversely affecting the
public life, the resolution was passed unanimously by the
House.
On an
another resolution moved by Ms. Afshan Laeeque Khan
(YP48-Sindh01) the House severely disapproved the
treatment meted out to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr.
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the form of forcibly
demanding his resignation and further putting him under
detention in his home. Members from both sides of the aisle
were of the view that the Government used illegitimate methods
to detain the Chief Justice and mistreated his family members.
MYPs criticized government’s reference against the CJP and
demanded the government to withdraw the reference
unconditionally and subsequently the resolution was passed by
the House with the support of all the members.
The
members from the opposition and government benches
vociferously deliberated on another resolution presented by
Ms. Afshan Laeeque Khan (YP48-Sindh01) and expressed deep
concern on the disappearance of a large number of persons in
the country and demanded of the Government to take immediate
action to locate the missing persons and keep the concerned
families aware of the developments in this regard. On being
reminded by the Speaker that the matter is in court and hence
sub-judice the issue was not debated any further. The House
unanimously appreciated the efforts of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan in locating the missing persons.
On two
calling attention notices Mr. Hammad Khan Marri (YP53-SINDH06)
and Mr. Jawaad Latif (YP27-Punjab09) invited attention
of the Minister for Health to a matter of urgent public
importance regarding Manchar lake toxic water being mixed with
Indus River from Bubak (Sehwan Sharief),district Jamshoro in
Sindh; and the non-availability of clean drinking water in
various regions of Pakistan respectively causing health
hazards such as gastro diseases to the residents of these
areas and harming the agriculture and wild life as well.
Speaking on the occasion Ms. Aatika Nagrah (YP06-ICT01),
Minister for Health, Education and Environment supported
the concern expressed by the MYPs and assured the House that
the youth government would bring this issue to the notice of
the concerned authorities.
The House
then began discussion on the key issues related to the foreign
policy of Pakistan on a motion moved by Mr. Zaka Zahid
Shafiq (YP60-SINDH13), Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Defence. The honourable Minister outlined a number of options
for steering Pakistan’s foreign policy in the future including
the need to focus on improving relations with neighbouring
India and placing the interests of Pakistan first while
supporting the war on terror.
The
Second Sitting
Held on
Thursday May 10, 2007 the sitting began with the question
period. Youth Minister for Youth Affairs responding to the
query by Mr. Qaisar Mahmood Gondal (YP40-PUNJAB22) said
that 31 Members of Youth Parlimament were from big cities in
Pakistan while 21 belonged to small cities in the countries
other than 5 MYPs from Islamabad and one each from FATA, FANA
and AJK. The Minister for Finance Mr. Shahzad Zaheer
(YP10-ICT05) informed the House that the latest
cumulative trade deficit of Pakistan was US $ 9.98 billion.
Following
the question hour Mr. Jawaad Ali Latif (YP27-PUNJAB09)
General Secretary of the opposition Green Party presented the
resolution urging the Government of Pakistan to increase the
budget allocation to a minimum of 10% of the GDP and further
ensure its effective utilization through the establishment of
a system of checks and balances in order to achieve the
Millennium Development Goal of “Universal Primary Education”
by 2015. The members of the ruling Blue Party disagreed with
such a high percentage of allocation to education as they
opined that the Ministry first needs to have an absorptive
capacity in order to manage execution of such large amount of
funds. However, the Leader of the Opposition maintained that
the government should increase spending on education sector in
order to produce a managed human resource base in the country.
Due to the strong reservations of the treasury benches the
resolution was not passed by the House in its present form.
On another
resolution moved collectively by Ms. Qurat-ul Ain Marri
(YP56-SINDH09), Mr. Mustafa Hyder Sayed (YP08-ICT03), Mr.
Muhammad Anwar-ul-Haq(YP34-Punjab16) and Mr. Syed Ali
Raza(YP44-PUNJAB26) the Youth Parliament condemned the
abominable actions of Lal Masjid functionaries in Islamabad
and expressed alarming concern over the Government’s
ubiquitously preposterous accession to demands of these self
appointed vigilantes whose actions are detrimental to the
sovereignty of the state and the international image of
Pakistan. Ms. Qurat Ul Ain Marri (YP56-SINDH09)
stated that who are the clerics to ban the music shops and to
demand of women to wear dupatta while driving? The treasury
benches urged the government to control this situation and
drew attention to the fact that the growing extremism and
militancy was extremely detrimental to the sovereignty of the
state and the international image of Pakistan. Due to the lack
of support from the opposition benches the resolution was not
passed and deferred till it is taken up the next day.
The House
witnessed a healthy debate on a resolution moved by Mr.
Safwan Ullah Khan for the restoration of democracy in
Pakistan in its true essence, i.e. government of the people
run by the vote of the people. Elaborating on this aspect
Mr. Safwanullah Khan stated that recently a survey
related to the state of democracy was conducted of about 177
countries, of which 42 were not considered as free states.
Pakistan received a rating of 6 for political rights and 5 for
civil liberties considering 1 is for best and 7 is for poor.
He stressed that Pakistan needed to implement reforms in
multiple domains in order to restore true democracy in its
land.
Addressing
the MYPs on the State of Democracy and the way forward,
Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Leader of the Opposition in the
Senate of Pakistan emphasized on how crucial youth are to the
future of democracy in the country being the torch bearers and
future leaders of the country. He stressed the need for youth
to actively participate in the electoral process and support
free fair and credible elections in the country as they are a
pre-requisite for ensuring genuine democracy in the country.
Responding to the queries put forth by the youth government
and opposition benches he assured that his party was striving
to strengthen the democratic process in Pakistan and was not
engaging in any deal with the government. He stated that the
democratic process in the country had been stalled and
weakened due to repeated military interventions and under
control of a civil-military nexus for past sixty years. He
opined that the only way forward was to have parliamentary
democracy in line with the aspirations of the country’s
people. The MYPs actively engaged in question and answer
session and were pleased to hear that the PPPP will do away
with the ban on student unions if it wins the coming general
election in the country.
The Third
Sitting
The third
sitting held in the afternoon on Friday May 11, 2007 commenced
with Deputy Speaker Ms. Mehvish Muneera Ismail
(YP54-SINDH07). presiding the session. The house continued
with the debate on the motion moved by honorable Prime
Minister Mr. Basil Nabi Malik on day two on the of
State of Democracy in Pakistan and the way forward.
The
ensuing debates highlighted that despite the fact that
Pakistan is turning 60 this year, Pakistan has little to
celebrate as it has failed to establish a workable model of
democracy. Main reasons are lack of respect and obedience to
the Constitution and the repeated military interventions in
the affairs of the state and the breeding of a culture of
corruption with the army becoming the most dominant
manipulator in politics. The Civil-Military power nexus was
seen as the most united barrier to the establishment of
democracy in Pakistan. Speakers also said that in order to
bring democracy in Pakistan political parties also need to
democratize their internal party systems.
The
improper manner in which the Chief Justice was made
non-functional, the civil liberties of the CJP and his
supporters were violated and the fact that he is being charged
for misuse of authority without holding other members of the
assembly and those favored by the men in uniform accountable
for the same were the few illustrations the MYPs presented for
the lack of democracy in Pakistan. The debates also saw
discussion on the role of Islam in the democratic structure of
Pakistan as not only important but also very critical and
crucial.
Giving his
opinion on moving forward Mr. Yawar Abbas said that of
the 6.5 billion humans of the world, 2 billion are ruled by
undemocratic governments, and unfortunately as Pakistan is
among those 2 billion people, the foremost task is to change
the definition of democracy from government of GHQ by GHQ and
for GHQ. He suggested that the pillars of the state like
Executive, Legislature and Judiciary should play a positive
role in strengthening democracy instead of legitimizing
dictators or re-electing them, while military should be put
back to their barracks, and election process should be made
transparent with media free to perform its important
functions.
Ms. Qurat
Ul Ain Marri
(YP56-SINDH09)questioned as to who is running the
affairs of the state, as there is a serious problem of law and
order in the country. She expressed that for restoration of
democracy land reforms were not necessary because if a
business man can have 10 or more factories why not a land lord
can have more land. What will these land reforms contribute to
democracy? However Mr. Zaka Zahid Shafiq disagreed with
Ms. Marri and felt that land reforms are very necessary to
bring the real democracy and to maximize the crop production,
because 85% of the total population relies totally on the
agriculture and land reformswold bring about more balanced
distribution of resources. He also held that it is necessary
for the people to come out in the streets for their rights
especially when the CJP has been expelled from his office in a
bad manner by an army chief.
Mr. Umair
Javed
said that for long term effect of the strengthening of
Democracy those army officials who subverted the constitution
should be tried and punished for high treason. Secondly
administrative power should be transferred to the provinces
and from Provinces to the Districts, so that a lay man can
easily get his problems solved.
Speaking
on the issue Mr. Anwar-Ul-Haq said that army in
Pakistan is a corporate army and their businesses are
subsidized by the government, if they are private businesses
as claimed by the army personnel then why is government
subsidizing them. He said that as we play reactionary politics
and thus lose out on a making a long term strategy. Making his
arguments Mr. Syed Ali Raza said that our potential has
been diverted on burning the statues of the American
presidents instead the people should focus on working for the
building of democracy.
As
elections are a vital aspect of the democratic process, for
the way forward the youth MPs suggested that ‘Thumb print
scanning machines’ should be installed on every electoral
ballot box, so that the transparency of electoral process can
be assured. Other suggestions for electoral reforms included;
the introduction of a law to reduce the expenditure on
elections by the candidates. Electoral rolls to be developed
according to the computerized ID card lists developed by NADRA.
The Election Commission of Pakistan should use the media to
create awareness on the electoral process and the role of
citizens.
The House
also debated the Youth Charter of Democracy prepared by the
Youth government.
Sitting
Four
The fourth
day of Youth Parliament started here at Best Western Hotel
Islamabad on 12th May, 2007 at 10:00 Hrs with Mr.
Illahi Bux Soomro in the chair. Ms. Saira Soomro moved
a resolution seeking to condemn the sealing of the office of
Supreme Court Bar Association President Mr. Munir A. Malik and
subsequent firing of bullets near and at his house and urged
the Government to refrain from the use of pressure tactics
against the legal counsels of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Supporting the resolution the honorable Deputy Speaker Ms.
Mehvish Muneera Ismail (YP54-SINDH07).also strongly
condemned the sealing of Mr. Munir Malik’s office in Karachi
and opined that the Government should provide security to the
counsels of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in order to avoid
any such future incident.
Mr. Jawdat
Bilal (YP-PIUNJAB)
moved a resolution alerting attention of the house to the
renewed friendship between the United States of America and
Islamic Republic of Pakistan post 9/11 as having contributed
to the deterioration in the internal security situation in the
country. Elaborating on his resolution he said that the
Government should not participate in the war on terror at the
cost of internal security, as thi had given rise to increasing
number of suicidal attacks and bomb blasts in the country.
Speaking on the resolution of the Shadow Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Defence the Youth Foreign Minister, Mr. Zaka
Zahid Shafiq said that he supported President Musharraf’s
decisions on the 9/11 scenario as he has done many things good
like curbing extremism and repealing Hudood Laws and bringing
in foreign investment in Pakistan. Mr. Akhter Shah
opined that Pak-US relationship was more like Master-Slave
relationship, as we simply comply with their orders like a
slave. He said that this was not reflective of the voice of
the masses. Ms. Sidra Tariq from the Opposition Green
Party was of the view that as Pakistan was facing a lot of
problems because of its role as a front line state in the war
against terror it should consider realigning its relationship
with America on the basis of sovereignty. The resolution was
passed by the House unopposed.
On another
resolution placed before the house by Mr. Yawar Abbas
urged the Government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to
redress the worsening security conditions in FATA,
particularly in the Kurram Agency, as clashes between the
armed groups had severely affected the local population which
would have long term adverse consequences for the security of
Pakistan. Further speaking on the motion he said that FCR
(FATA Crimes Rule) was launched by British Govt. to contain
the Czarist movement and to control the people of FATA. This
was a cruel law applied by the British rule and is affecting
the lives of approximate four million people badly in FATA.
The political agent according to this rule has got enormous
powers and his ruling or verdict can’t be challenged in any
court. We as the people of FATA strongly condemn the AK 47 and
Gunship helicopter culture in tribal areas and we hereby at
this platform make an appeal before the government of Pakistan
to repeal this law. Condemned the role of the Government in
FATA. Ms. Afshan Laeeq Khan urged the Government to
give political liberty to the people residing in FATA.
The house
then took up the resolution moved by Mr. Rafi Ullah Khan for
preserving the natural resources and natural environment in
Pakistan the Government needed to take effective measures to
supply needed power sources (Electricity, Natural Gas etc.) to
the hilly and periphery areas (having rich natural resources)
on priority/emergency basis. The members from the government
party suggested rewording of the resolution outlining that the
areas which despite having rich resources do not have these
facilities available should be supplied as well after which
the resolution was passed.
On a
resolution moved by Mr. Yawar Abbass and Jawdat Bilal
to express concern over the poor performance of the Pakistan
cricket Team in the Recent World Cup in the West Indies, the
House was of the opinion that the present Chairman of the
Pakistan Cricket Board should resign and be replaced by some
one who has a related experience and expertise in this field,
through
a more transparent and accountable system of selection.
Speaking on the resolution they said that a medical doctor
heading the cricket board was as astonishing as Pakistan being
ruled by an army general. They also stressed the need to make
a constitution which duly implemented and was overseen by the
Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Sports.
However, despite the suggestion by Mr. Kamran Khan Kakar
that the sport of cricket should be discontinued and the same
money be given to help the poor segment of society, the
resolution was passed by the House unanimously. The session
was adjourned till the next day.
These
deliberations were followed by Mr. Javed Hasan Aly’s,
former Team Leader of the New Education Policy Review
constituted by the government address to the members of the
Youth Parliament or MYPs on the State of Education and the New
Education Policy in Pakistan. In his address he noted that
delivering education must account for provision of social
justice, economic development and the ways to improve
livelihood. Mr. Aly urged the civil society to fill the gap in
education provision left by the government He also highlighted
that public-private partnership could contribute more towards
a progressive society. Talking about the new education policy
he elaborated that it has a vision of recognizing education as
a right of every citizen. This policy he said focused on the
purpose of education to raise highly knowledgeable, skillful,
productive, creative and confident individuals who are
committed to democratic values and human rights and be able to
tolerate and value the differences in opinion, faith and
culture. He stressed that the importance of providing quality
education as well as of equity and access to education for
all.
Sitting
Five
The fifth
and final sitting of the third session was held on Sunday May
13, 2007. The concluding sitting on Sunday strongly condemned
the killing of 30 innocent people in Karachi. On a resolution
moved by Ms. Qurul-ain Marri (YP56-SINDH09), Member of
Youth Parliament, drawing attention to the unprecedented
incidents of lawlessness in Karachi on Saturday May 12, 2007,
the Deputy Speaker Ms. Mehwish Muneera Ismail
(YP54-SINDH07).relaxed the rules and stopped the
proceedings of the day to offer prayers for those who had lost
their lives in Karachi. Members from both the Youth Government
and the Opposition benches expressed grave disappointment with
the law enforcing agencies who allowed such acts of violence
to take place. The House was of the view that if this
situation is not controlled it may lead to adverse
circumstances which would be detrimental to the security
within the country. The resolution was subsequently
unanimously passed by the House and sent to the standing
committee on Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights.
On a
motion moved by Honourable Youth Minister for Education Ms.
Aatika Nagrah (YP06-ICT01) on “The State of
Education and the New Education Policy” the House witnessed a
heated debate on the proposed education policy laid before the
house. The Honourable Minister stressed that nowadays next in
importance to freedom and justice is popular education,
without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently
maintained. Appreciating the recommendations put forward in
the recent White Paper on Education prepared for the Ministry
of Education she said that the Youth government has made more
suggestions for inclusion in the new education policy. These
include an increase in the powers of heads of public
educational institutions to use finances at their disposal
(with proper checks and balances) an increase in education
spending; a shift in the emphasis on primary education in the
country with more investment in teachers, infrastructure and
more interactive curriculum; and a school ranking system,
administered by the federal Government to encourage healthy
competition between schools.
Giving her
opinion Ms. Hina Anwer Ali said that education being
the progressive discovery of our own ignorance has not been
adequately provided/ facilitated to the masses by our
Governments since the birth of Pakistan. We as a nation lack
the quality of independent inquiry, she asserted.
Two other
resolutions relating to paying more attention to the special
needs in the special education sector including facilitating
the education of special children and launching an awareness
campaign for voter’s registration moved by Mr. Jawaad Latif
and Mr. Qaisar Mahmood Gondal were discussed and passed by
the house.
Earlier in
the Prime Minister’s question period the Youth Prime Minister
Mr. Basil Nabi Malik informed the House that according
to information made available by the Ministry of Youth
Affairs, Government of Pakistan since it was established as a
separate Ministry in November 2005 has started the
establishment of four Youth Development Centres in Quetta,
Peshawar, Karachi and Sukhur with an amount of Rs. 22.5
million allocated for programmes at these centres.
Meetings
of Standing Committees were also held on the fourth and fifth
days of the third session of Youth Parliament. The Session was
prorogued by the honourable Deputy Speaker Ms. Mehvish
Muneera Ismail (YP54-SINDH07). The next session is
scheduled to be held in September 2007 in Islamabad.
|
