Party Manifestoes | Youth Parliament Pakistan

Party Manifestoes
Comparison of Manifestoes of the two Political Parties of Youth Parliament Pakistan.

No.	Issue	Position
No.	Issue	Blue Party (Liberal)	Green Party (Moderate)
1	Electoral Reforms:
a.	Age for Candidates for MNAs & MPAs	18 Years (Same as the minimum age for a voter)	25 Years (Same as at present)
b.	Proportional Representation	A certain percentage of the members of each assembly (National and Provincial) should be elected through proportional representation	All National Assembly seats except those for women and non-Muslims be filled by direct contests between candidates in each constituency. (Present system)
2	Students Unions
a.	Students Unions in Colleges and Universities	Students’ Unions should be allowed subject to law.	Should be allowed but with constraints such as no public expression of political party affiliation by candidates while canvassing etc; strict action against violence in campuses and/or hindrance in educational proceedings.
3	Economics
a.	Privatisation	No more privatisation of state enterprise.	A hybrid need to be developed between private and public sector. An utmost effort to improve indigenous industry over imports.
b.	Workers wages	Workers be given protection against low wages; Minimum Salary to be Rs 10,000.	Workers salaries to be given protection against low wages; minimum salary to be Rs.10000/- (as opposed to Rs.8000/- at present)
c.	Taxation	Believes in heavier direct taxes on higher-income persons (progressive taxation). Tax on Agricultural Income be enforced like any other income.	Believes in heavier direct taxes on higher-income persons and reduction in taxes for lower wage earners.
4	Women Representation	Supports current quota for women in the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies. Efforts should be made to increase representation through direct elections.	There should be quota for women and support the current quota in the assembly, but also encourage the parties to promote women on general seats.
5	Use of Religion in Elections	No party should be allowed to use the name of a religion to contest election or to use it to project its identity.	There should be no bar on projecting Islamic ideology by parties in Elections.
6	FATA & PATA	1. Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) 1901 should be replaced by Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) like in settled areas. 2. FATA be made a separate province.	A gradual approach should be adopted. FATA and PATA to be made a part of settled territories in 15 years (by 2025).
7	Foreign Policy
a.	South Asia	Supports immediate visa liberalization with SAARC countries, removal of most trade barriers, greater regional co-operation oon security and energy issues. Support for greater political integration in South Asia in the EU style gradually.	Insists on an honourable settlement of all disputes including the Kashmir dispute before normalisation of relations with India. Kashmir dispute to be resolved on the basis of UN resolutions.
b.	USA	Considers that while close relations with the US are important, it is more important to cultivate historical allies of good standing, such as China. Keeps in mind the failures of previous US governments to support Pakistan at key moments, and therefore wary of close ties with the US.	Strongly deplores US policy in Iraq and opposes the presence of US troops in Afghanistan. Does not consider that the US should be assigned any particular importance. Considers closer relations with China and EU more important.
c.	Israel	Believes in adopting the ‘Morocco approach’ towards Israel – encourage talks and the development of contacts with Israel, but withholds official recognition till the resolution of the Palestinian dispute.	Opposes recognition of Israel until resolution of Palestine issue.
d.	The Muslim World	Supports bilateral relations on reciprocal basis. Supports strong relations with old allies, particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Supports energy co-operation with Iran.	Supports strong and special ties with Muslim Countries; supports strengthening of OIC.
e.	Kashmir Dispute	Encourages speedy resolution of the Kashmir Dispute and supports the Govt of Pakistan’s four (04) step approach to dispute resolution. Also believes in awarding AJK and Northern Areas distinct Provincial status and due Constitutional recognition.	Supports right of self determination of Kashmiris as per the UN resolutions
8	National Defence	Supports reduction in defence spending to the maximum extent possible. Believes in reducing the armed forces' role in economy and privatisation of all military economic enterprises. Supports increased accountability of military in areas such as increased control for civilian defence ministers, publishing of military budgets, debating military finances in Parliament and so forth. Support revamping of armed forces on modern lines, with more focus on technology, and less focus on manpower. Support creation of national fuel reserve of at least 100 days, in order to allow maximum strategic flexibility in times of conflict.	Believes in Strong national defence and increased spending to bolster defence.
9	Healthcare	Supports an effective and welfare-oriented public healthcare system.	Supports revitalisation and betterment of the public healthcare system. Private healthcare facilities should be made more feasible for the common man.
10	System of Government	Supports Parliamentary Democracy	Supports Presidential Form of democracy.
11	Media Policy	Supports greater liberalisation of media in terms of freedom of speech and expression.	Supports that media should be more mindful of the cultural sensitivities of the country. Supports that Ministry of Information continues.
12	Nuclear Policy	Believes in nuclear weapons as a deterrent. Control of strategic nuclear arsenal to lie with civilian government, not armed forces	Believes in nuclear weapons as a deterrent
13	Land Reforms	Reform Labour Laws to facilitate farm workers and tenants.	Believes that sufficient land reforms have already been introduced.
14	Globalisation
a.	WTO	Considers WTO regime against the national interest and not people-friendly. Supports delayed application /adoption of WTO regime based on negotiations.	WTO has led to an inevitable North and South split which needs to be lessened. Believes that Pakistan needs to strengthen its infrastructure in a manner to adopt WTO to the fullest. Believes that ‘complex inter-dependency’ has increased during the last decade and regionalism is on the rise and strengthened.
15	Militancy and Terrorism	Condemns terrorist attacks but also recognizes that the advent of militancy and terrorism is a side effect geo-political and socio-economic circumstance. Is open to unconditional talks with terrorist organizations in the country.	Condemns terrorist attacks and is open to talks with terrorist organizations but within a fixed a deadline. However, all options must be considered and a military solution is not out of the question if talks fail.
16	Education	Believes that a single system of primary and secondary education, with minimal fees, should be introduced to eliminate class differences. Both Islamic and religious studies should be taught in schools but the schools themselves should not promote any religious ideology.	Believes the current system of madrassa/private/government schools does not require radical reform. However, efforts should be made to better and standardize the quality of education provided in schools.
17	Energy Policy	Bureacratic re-structuring of WAPDA, introduction of tariffs on higher end domestic consumers and conservation practices are key in developing and sustaining the country's natural resources. Rural electrification is a priority.	Focus should be on eliminating circular debt and privatizing power generation and distribution companies to tackle the current energy crisis. The priority is industry and the domestic consumer.

Youth Parliament of Pakistan