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Inaugural Session of 5th Youth Parliament Pakistan Concluded at Islamabad

February 25, 2013 - March 01, 2013

The Orientation

On the first day of the, Mr. Wazir Ahmed Jogazai, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, who graciously agreed to chair the Youth Parliament Pakistan as its Speaker, congratulated the Members of the Youth Parliament on becoming part of this unique and laudable platform for the youth. He said that Youth Parliament Pakistan has created and polished a lot of minds of the youth who are now working in the different practical fields of Pakistan like Political Parties, Parliament, Civil Services and etc. Later, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT and Member Steering Committee Youth Parliament Pakistan gave a Presentation on the Rules and Procedures of the Youth Parliament Pakistan. He advised the members to take this unique opportunity as a first step to be a better resource person for the Parliament. Mr. Muhammad Mushtaq, Deputy Secretary Legislation further explained and highlighted the rules of Procedures conducted in the National Assembly. He gave few examples of the National Assembly proceedings.

First Sitting of 5th Batch of Youth Parliament Pakistan

Youth Parliament Pakistan 2013 began with the oath taking ceremony of the members. Mr. Wazir Ahmed Jogezai, Former Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan served as the Speaker. Oath taking ceremony was followed by a discussion on 'New Electoral rolls in Pakistan' led by Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT. According to him, the electoral list prepared for general elections 2012 is relatively better than the ones prepared previously. He highlighted the use of computerized CNIC, which in its real sense has helped in the decrease of name duplication and other manipulations.

Later, Mr. Saqlain Saleem (YP20-PUNJAB03) proposed a resolution to discuss the recent sectarian violence targeted at the Hazara's particularly, and Shia's generally. A number of Youth Parliamentarians argued that it is the Government's responsibility to ensure the safety and freedom of all the ethnicities living in Pakistan. Mr. Ali Humayun (YP58-SINDH10) amended the resolution that it's not only the Shia killing but target killing is also of a grave nature. The resolution was passed unanimously.

Another Resolution was moved by Mr. Arslan Ali (YP52-SINDH04) that highlighted the involvement of undemocratic forces as hurdle in the working of the Election Commission of Pakistan and they should be allowed to raise question on the un biasness of the commission. Parliamentarians were divided with regards to this resolution. Ms. Akrameen Irfan (YP18-PUNJAB01) was of the opinion that outsiders and undemocratic forces should be allowed to question the ECP. However, Mr. Arslan Ali (YP52-SINDH04) replied that Article 19 of the 'Constitution of Pakistan' states that if National Interest is at stake then freedom of speech is subject to restriction. The resolution got passed successfully.

In an interactive session on the topic of Anti-Polio Campaign, Dr. Shamsher Khan, Coordinator High-Risk Districts, UNICEF, shared his analysis with the members of the Youth Parliament of Pakistan. He addressed the newly-inducted 5th batch of Youth Parliament Pakistan 2013 on the importance of understanding and support of youth on the challenges of polio eradication in Pakistan. Depicting the current scenario, he stated that globally, there has been a decline in polio cases over the years. In Pakistan, as of 2013, two cases have been reported from all over the country so far. In the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), despite significant proportion of total number of cases, there has been reduction of cases by 66% compared to 2012. Cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have increased by 17% compared to 2011 due to a major outbreak (that included FATA) during the second half of the year. A total of 58 polio cases were reported in 2012. 47 (81%) of cases were reported from KP (46%) and FATA (35%) whereas Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab had significant reduction in the number of cases in 2012 compared to 2011 (95%, 88%, and 78% respectively).

An Augmented National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) to deal with polio in Pakistan has been drafted. The plan focuses on involving public representatives to help eradicate polio in their constituencies. He shared that while there has been a positive change through personal oversight by chief executives at the national, provincial and district levels, a key challenge of translation of high-level commitment into meaningful accountability at the UC-level still remains. One of key objectives of NEAP 2013 therefore is to have "meaningful accountability at district & UC level." The NEAP 2013, he shared, focuses, among other things, on "priority underserved Pashtun, migrant and transit populations" aims to track and vaccinated all missed children. He added that it will also ensure to have effective and integrated control rooms at all levels.

The Inauguration

The Youth Parliament Pakistan was inaugurated on February 28, 2013 in Islamabad by Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, (NA-24, D. I. Khan) MNA, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Patron, Youth Parliament Pakistan, said that the participation of youth in politics is the key to sustainability and quality of democracy in Pakistan. The Inauguration Session of the 5th Youth Parliament Pakistan was also addressed by, Mr. Nadeem Afzal Gondal, MNA, (NA-64, Sargodha-I) Chairman National Assembly Public Accounts Committee, H. E. Mr. Ole E. Moesby, Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Mr. Wazir Ahmed Jogezai, former Deputy Speaker National Assembly and Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT.

Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, Deputy Speaker National Assembly and the Patron of the Youth Parliament Pakistan said that though media mostly projects a negative image of politicians, more and more young and educated people dedicated to contribute to policies of Pakistan will strengthen democracy and the image also. He also briefed the Members of the Youth Parliament Pakistan about the tasks and duties of Speaker and how the balance is created in the National Assembly by staying neutral. He added that the members of the Youth Parliament Pakistan should research first and then put forward their policy options.

Mr. Nadeem Afzal Gondal, MNA, Chairman Public Accounts Committee, while addressing the Youth Parliamentarians said that the actual politics requires a lot of effort and hard work. Youth of Pakistan must consider joining politics as a vocation and a career option. He congratulated young members for being selected as members of Youth Parliament and advised them to make the most of their time learning about functioning of democracy in the practical sense, He said that there are 28 departments that have no audit records and no one can question them. He said that Public Accounts committee has recovered 23 billion rupees in 8 months which is a bigger achievement as compared to NAB and the Supreme Court.

His Excellency Mr. Ole E. Moesby, 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. The Kingdom of Denmark will not show you the direction but help you in achieving the direction you choose for yourself. He said that his country can facilitate development in Pakistan.

Mr. 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.

Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT, congratulated young members for being part of 5th batch of Youth Parliament Pakistan and said that Youth Parliament Pakistan is a PILDAT initiative. PILDAT formed the first-ever Youth Parliament Pakistan in the year 2007. He shared that after the successful completion of the four batches of Youth Parliament in 2007,2008, 2009 and 2012, the 5th batch of the Youth Parliament Pakistan has been selected from across the country by an independent Steering Committee comprising veteran and young members of Pakistan's Parliament. PILDAT serves as the Secretariat of Youth Parliament Pakistan. Establishment and facilitation of the Youth Parliament is part of PILDAT's focus on Youth in the country and Youth's awareness education and training in the norms of politics and democracy in the country. PILDAT strongly feels that sustainable democracy and the sustainability of sound democratic institutions in Pakistan is not possible without youth's involvement in the democratic and political process even if this involvement is simply as a citizen or voter.

Earlier, Mr. Ghazi Salahuddin, Senior Analyst and Member, PILDAT's "Democracy and Youth" under the Project "Supporting Monitoring of Democracy, Electoral Reforms and Development of Youth in Pakistan, in an interactive and candid roundtable discussion on "Youth and Democracy", with members of the 5th batch of the Youth Parliament Pakistan shared his view about the barriers to democracy, Mr. Salahuddin said that the greatest barriers on the way towards democracy are those items which we identify with feudalism or tribalism. "It is for you to make Pakistan safe for democracy," he reminded the members of Youth Parliament drawn from across the country. Pakistan belongs to you and you belong to Pakistan, no matter which image the country has. "One word which the youth needs to understand is: empathy," he said. Members of the Youth Parliament actively took part in the discussion. They shared that there is a confusion on the definition and identification of culture of the country, to which Mr. Salahuddin said that it is wrong to consider one's culture as inferior, but it is equally incorrect to consider it as superior.

Assessment of the Quality of Democracy in Pakistan

Earlier, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT, shared that PILDAT had carried out an assessment of the quality of democracy in the country. The idea, he shared, was to know as to how democracy and democratic institutions have been performing in the country.

Mr. Ismail Khan, Projects Manager PILDAT, in his presentation on the report on quality of democracy in the country, shared that whereas democratic processes have strengthened in Pakistan over the past 5 years, their ultimate effect on the performance of democracy is far from satisfactory.

Visit to Parliament House

On the last day of first session of Youth Parliament Pakistan 2013, March 1; Ms. Shazia Marri; MNA, briefed the Young Parliamentarians on how to manage the political, social and national situations at times and how not to project a negative image in the media. She shared her experiences when she was the Provincial Information Minister, Sindh and Party's Information Secretary with the Members of Youth Parliament Pakistan on their visit to the National Assembly of Pakistan. She guided the young members on how to deal with the question and answer sessions and on the importance of the press releases.

Earlier in the day Members of the Youth Parliament Pakistan visited the National Assembly of Pakistan where Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, MNA Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan and Patron of the Youth Parliament Pakistan and Ms. Anusha Rehman; MNA and Member of Youth Parliament of Pakistan Steering Committee welcomed the 5th batch of Youth Parliament Pakistan and they briefed them on the importance of the completion of 5 years tenure of the Parliament.

Later, The Leader of the House announced the Youth Cabinet. The cabinet comprises of Youth Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights, Mr. Afnan Saiduzzaman Siddique (YP54-SINDH06), Youth Minister for Information, Ms. Sharmeen Qamar (YP43-PUNJAB26), Minister for Finance, Revenue and Planning, Mr. Saqlain Saleem (YP20-PUNJAB03), Minister for Interior (Kashmir, GB, AJK and FATA), Mr. Hazrat Wali Kakar (YP02-BALOCHISTAN01), Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Mr. Ummar Awais (YP34-PUNJAB17), Youth Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Ms. Akrameen Irfan (YP18-PUNJAB01). Mr. Bilal Ahmad (YP37-PUNJAB20), was elected as the General Secretary and Ms. Sonia Riaz (YP03-BALOCHISTAN02) was elected as the Chief Whip of the Blue Party.

The Leader of the Opposition announced Shadow Cabinet. Following portfolios were allotted to the members; Mr. Ejaz Sarwar (YP21-PUNJAB04), Shadow Minister for Interior (Kashmir, GB, AJK and FATA), Mr. Sheikh Hammad Amjad (YP53-SINDH05), Shadow Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ms. Sitwat Waqar (YP04-Balochistan02), Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Mr. Abdul Samad Khan (YP16-KP06), Shadow Minister for Finance, Economics & Planning, Mr. Umar Naeem (YP48-PUNJAB31), Shadow Minister for Law & Parliamentary Affairs, Ms. Shahana Afsar (YP42-PUNJAB24), Shadow Minister for Information. Mr. Arsalan Ali (YP52-SINDH04), was elected as the General Secretary and Mr. Najam u Saqib Memon (YP59-SINDH11), was elected as the Chief Whip of Green Party.

The session was prorogued sine die.

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