Tag: (PILDAT)

Islamabad, June 03, 2022 (PPI-OT):In a UNDP-PILDAT Youth and Parliamentarians Dialogue held today in Islamabad, Youth Representatives shared their detailed policy demands with MPAs. Young representatives belonging to various disciplines from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad presented their policy demands on the areas of Human Rights, Electoral Reforms, Climate Change and Revival of Student Unions.

The Following Youth representatives attended the session:

Syed Aaqiab Ali Shah, Muhammad Murad, Agha Muhammad Yousif, Ms. Noor Ul Ain Haider, Ms. Hourab Din, Muhammad Talha Gujjar, Ms. Nayyab Zahra Akbar, Ms. Shumaila Kausar, Hassan Raza Gul, Zulfikar Hussain, Danish Masood, Ms. Amna Mir, Harris Abdullah, Ms. Sania Israr, Ms. Rida Khan, Abdul Basit Khan, Ms. Esha Nasir and Muhammad Fasih Asghar.

The faculty members who attended included: Dr. Marriam Anees, Director Student Affairs Quaid-e-Azam University, Prof Dr. Muhammad Idrees, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Quaid-e-Azam University and Dr. Waqas Saleem. Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-e-Azam University.

Ms. Shiza Fatima Khawaj, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs deeply appreciated the clarity with which youth representatives highlighted and presented the issues faced by youth and those close to the heart of youth. She invited the members of the youth to come up with research and suggestions to further improve the policies of water conservation and other aspects highlighted by the youth in their presentations.

In an ensuing discussion between MNAs and Youth on Future Engagement Plan, it was agreed that the SDG secretariat and the Prime ministers office will make themselves more accessable to the youth. Welcoming the participants, Mr. Faheem Ahmed Khan, Senior Projects Manager, PILDAT gave an overview of the project.

The members of the National Assembly who attended the session included Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, MMAP (NA 1, Chitral), Ms. Romina Khurshid Aalam, MNA (PML-N), Ms. Shahida Akhtar Ali, MNA (JUI), Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatimi, MNA (PML-N), Ms. Shiza Fatima Khawaja, MNA (PML-N); SAPM on Youth Affairs, Dr. Shazia Sobia, MNA (PPP)

The dialogue was organised by PILDAT under a UNDP Project Build Leadership Capacity and Mainstream Young Men and Women in Policy Processes Leading to Inclusive and Pro-Youth Legislation.

For more information, contact:

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)

P.O. Box 278, F-8, Postal Code: 44220, Islamabad, Pakistan

Email: info@pildat.org

Website: www.pildat.org

Islamabad, May 27, 2022 (PPI-OT):PILDAT, with the support of the Australian High commission’s Direct Aid Programme, organized a virtual seminar session on Comparing Evolution of Federalism in Pakistan and Australia with academia of leading universities across Pakistan.

Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT, presented key takeaways from the background paper written by Mr. Sartaj Aziz, public intellectual, former National Security Advisor and Former Federal Minister for Finance, Foreign Affairs and a Development Economist. Mr. Sartaj Aziz could not attend the session. In is recommendations, Mr. Sartaj Aziz believes that the call for revisiting 18th Amendment should be discouraged. Instead, capacity of the Provincial governments needs to be enhanced to deal with the devolved subjects of Education and Health.

Duplication of efforts should be avoided between Federal and Provincial Governments in areas such as Health, Agriculture and Population Planning. Role of Federal Government should be increased in social protection, poverty reduction, higher education and health insurance by better utilisation of the CCI. In Water and Higher Education, mechanism of matching grants can be used by Federal Government to achieve accelerated progress. Federal Government must show leadership by evolving through consensus and approval of CCI a model Local Government law which should also set time limit of holding LG elections and efforts should be made to increase the federal tax revenues to 15% of the GDP.

Speaking on the Evolution of Fiscal Federalism in Australia Dr. Moeen Cheema, Associate Professor at the College of Law, Australian National University (ANU), briefly shared the history of federalism and constitutional formation in Australia. He said fiscal federalism is key to robust federalism. However, Australia is somewhat anomalous amongst developed democracies as its constitutional system has deeply entrenched federalism but has at the same time evolved a vertical fiscal imbalance that leads to comparatively much greater centralization of power and policymaking in the federal government or Commonwealth of Australia.

As a developed economy, however, and the over-sized revenue generating capacity of the federal government, the fiscal imbalance is cushioned through Commonwealth’s generous unconditional and conditional grants to Australian States. Evolution of mechanisms of coordination between the Commonwealth and States through policymaking is also entrenched in practice that takes care of the centralization of power. Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director PILDAT welcomed the participants and provided a background for the discussion session in addition to moderating the session.

Participants joining the virtual seminar included Prof. Dr. Amanullah, Dean Law College, University of Punjab, Lahore, Prof. Dr. Irum Khalid, HOD- Department of Political Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Rehana Hashmi, Professor-Department of Political Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Gulshan Majeed, Associate Professor- Department of Political Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Dayyab Gillani, Associate Professor- Department of Political Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, Mr. Shareh Qazi, Lecturer- Department of Political Sciences, University of Punjab, Lahore, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ali, Associate Professor, University of Karachi, Mr. Salman Alvi, Research Associate- Department of Political Sciences, University of Karachi, Mr. Iqbal Khan, Research Associate, Department of Political Sciences, University of Karachi, Dr. Asif Khuhro, Research Associate- Department of Political Sciences, University of Karachi, Ms. Wafa Azeem, PHD Scholar-Political Sciences Department, University of Karachi, Prof. Dr. Shaista Tabassum, Faulty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi, Prof. Dr. Khushboo Ejaz, Assistant Professor- Department of Political Sciences, Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Ms. Zoya Shaffy, Lecturer- Department of Political Sciences, Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Ms. Dur e Shahwar, Lecturer- Department of Political Sciences, Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Prof. Dr. Abdul Wadood, Chairperson- Department of International Relations, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta, Mr. Asif Khan, Lecturer-Political Sciences Department, BUITEMS, Quetta, Mr. Sartaj Khan, Lecturer-Political Sciences Department, BUITEMS, Quetta, Ms. Sehr Amjad, Research Associate- Political Sciences Department, BUITEMS, Quetta, Ms. Walwala Bashir, Research Associate- Political Sciences Department, BUITEMS, Quetta, Dr. Imran Ashraf, Assistant Professor- Department of Political Sciences, National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Ms. Salma Niazi, Assistant Professor-Department of Pakistan Studies, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Dr. Noor ul Hassan Hashmi, Assistant Professor-Department of Humanities, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Dr. Habib ur Rehman, Assistant Professor-Department of Humanities, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Ms. Sadia Falki, MS/PHD Coordinator/Lecturer-Department of Political Sciences, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Ms. Sara Ahmed, PHD Scholar, Department of Political Sciences, LCWU, Ms. Saba Lodhi, PHD Scholar, Department of Political Sciences, LCWU, Ms. Zaib un Nisa, PHD Scholar, Department of Political Sciences, LCWU, Mr. Shaukat Tareen, Lecturer-Department of Political Sciences, University of Balochistan, Ms. Farhana Umar, Lecturer-Department of Political Sciences, University of Balochistan, Ms. Husan Ara, Lecturer-Department of Political Sciences, University of Balochistan, Dr. Alamzeb Khan, Assistant Professor-School of Law, Quaid e Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, Dr. Rukhsana, Lecturer- School of Law, Quaid e Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, Prof Dr. Arshad Nawaz Khan, Assistant Professor-School of Law, Quaid e Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, Prof Dr. Aziz ur Rehman, Dean-School of Law, Quaid e Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, Dr. Amir ullah Khan, Assistant Professor-Department of Political Sciences, Islamia College Peshawar, Dr. Shabana Noreen, Assistant Professor-Department of Political Sciences, Islamia College Peshawar, Mr. Nasir Khan, Lecturer- Department of Political Sciences, Islamia College Peshawar, Ms. Tabassum Majeed, Lecturer- Department of Political Sciences, Islamia College Peshawar, Mr. Tehsin ullah Khan, Lecturer- Department of Political Sciences, Islamia College Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Adam Saud, Dean-Faculty of Social Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad, Dr. Irfan Qaisrani, Assistant Professor-Department of International Relations, Bahria University, Islamabad, Dr. A Z Hilali, HOD-Department of Governance, Politics and Public Policy, University of Peshawar and Mr. Ahmed Hassan, Lecturer-Department of International Relations, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)
P.O. Box 278, F-8, Postal Code: 44220, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: info@pildat.org
Website: www.pildat.org

Islamabad, March 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):Members of the 17th Youth Parliament met in its second virtual session to debate on the Sindh Students’ Union Act 2019. The session was opened by Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT who offered a comprehensive overview of students’ unions, their role in activating students’ role in their educational institutions and the society in general. Afterwards, an interactive question and answer session was conducted with the Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs), shedding light on how youth’s contribution as members of student unions will shape their future and contribute to their leadership development.

Led by Mr. Ahmad Saleem of NA-63 Rawalpindi-VII, 54 members of the Youth Parliament introduced a Member’s Bill for the revival of Student Unions in the federating units of Pakistan after 60% of the attending members granted leave for the introduction. In the ensuing debate, MYPs discussed the possibilities of politicization and radicalization of student unions and how the bill can be amended with mitigation and avoidance strategies. There was also a general consensus over inclusion of marginalized segments of youth such as women, transgenders, minorities and persons with disabilities in Students’ Unions.

After a brief general debate, the Youth Parliament referred the bill to three of the Youth-related Standing Committees: Youth Affairs, Higher Education and Political System. The three committees will prepare and lay their reports in the Youth Parliament in time for the third session.

Chairs and representatives of 15 Standing Committees of the YPP presented their interim reports in the sitting. Subjects such as Relations with India, Afghanistan, US, CPEC, performance of ministry of human rights and advisability of establishing diplomatic relations with Israel figured prominently in the reports.

The Standing Committee on Electoral and Political Reforms presented ideas for electoral system based on Proportional Representation. The Youth Parliament of Pakistan is a project of PILDAT and has been running for the past 17 years. The 17th YPP is supported by the Jang/Geo Group, Bank of Punjab, Interloop Limited, Islamabad Serena Hotel, FES Pakistan, University of Lahore and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)
P.O. Box 278, F-8, Postal Code: 44220, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: info@pildat.org
Website: www.pildat.org

Islamabad, March 24, 2022 (PPI-OT):Constitution of Pakistan should be amended to clearly define role, term, role and responsibilities of the third tier of local governments in Pakistan like the role, domain and duration of national and provincial governments. Without a clear constitutional definition, the critical third tier of governance has not been made effective by provinces. The consensus emerged at a Consultative Forum organized by PILDAT in collaboration with the UNDP on the subject of Effective Local Governments at Quetta.

Speakers at the Forum included Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT, Ms. Aliona Niculita, Deputy Resident Representative UNDP, Syed Ehsan Shah, Deputy Director (LGE) ECP Balochistan and Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director, PILDAT. A diverse group of Balochistan MPAs, representatives of key political parties, media, academia, CSOs and youth representatives joined the forum to share their perspectives.

In her welcome remarks, Ms. Aliona Niculita said that the UNDP has been working with National and Provincial Governments to strengthen effective and accountable ’democratic governance. The consultative forum on effective local governments is an important part to strengthen the necessary third tier of local governance in Pakistan.

Earlier, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT said that with the population size of 220 million, only 1191 elected national and provincial legislators in Pakistan cannot provide a stable system of democratic governance. An effective third tier of local governance is the pressing need for Pakistan. Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director PILDAT, presented a rationale on the need for effective local government system in Pakistan as well as a comparative analysis of the current system of local governments in place across 4 provinces of Pakistan.

Balochistan MPAs joining the forum included Mr. Ahmed Nawaz, MPA and Chairperson Standing Committee on Social Welfare, Women Development, Zakat, Usher, Hajj, Minorities Affairs and Youth Affairs (BNP-M) and Ms. Shakeela Naveed Noor Qazi, MPA (BNP-M). Representatives from political parties included Dr. Kaleemullah, Former Mayor of Quetta (PMAP), Ms. Zulekha Aziz Mandokhel, President Women Wing Quetta, Balochistan, PTI, Jan Muhammad Buledi, Central Secretary General, National Party, Mr. Riaz Ahmad, Member, National Party, Mr. Waleed Bizenjo, Member CEC, National Party, Mr. Saad Baloch, Member, National Party, Mr. Abdul Jalil Baloch, Member, National Party and Mir Balach Khan, Member, BNP-M.

Academics who joined the forum included Prof. Dr. Jahangir, Assistant Professor, HoD Economics Department, University of Balochistan, Dr. Nagina Gul, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, BUITEMS, Mr. Shaukat Tareen, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Balochistan, Prof. Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Balochistan, Mr. Sameen Khan, Director Student Affairs, BUITEMS, Mr. Paradin, Lecturer, Department of International Relations, BUITEMS, Prof. Dr. Jahanzeb Khan, Assistant Professor, Area Study Center, University of Balochistan and Mr. Wahid Khan, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Balochistan. Many young members of 17th Youth Parliament and young students also joined the discussion forum including Ms. Hadia Ishtiaq, Mr. Imaad Durrani, Mr. Faraz Ullah, BUITEMS, Ms. Nazdana, BUITEMS, Ms. Mahzaib Baloch, BUITEMS, Mr. Muhammad Hanif, BUITEMS and Mir Dostak, University of Balochistan.

Representatives from CSOs included Mr. Allauddin Khilji, Regional Director, Aurat Foundation, Ms. Fizza Kanwal, Representative, Shade, Mr. Ishfaq Mengal, Project Officer, Aurat Foundation and Mr. Shams Ul Mulk Mandokhel, Activist, HRCP. Representatives of the UNDP who joined the forum included Mr. Zulfiqar Durrani, Head Quetta Sub-office, UNDP Pakistan, Mr. Darren Nance, Chief Technical Advisor, SELP-UNDP and Mr. Qasim Janjua, Election Team Lead, UNDP Pakistan.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)
P.O. Box 278, F-8, Postal Code: 44220, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: info@pildat.org
Website: www.pildat.org

Islamabad, March 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):In a meeting held at Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)’s Head Office in Lahore, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT welcomed Dr. Niels Hegewisch, Country Director Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Pakistan and Mr. Abdullah Dayo, Programme Coordinator FES Pakistan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FES Pakistan to implement the project of 17th Youth Parliament Pakistan (YPP).

To build leadership skills and critical thinking, foster political knowledge, and meaningfully engage the Youth of Pakistan in democratic decision-making, PILDAT launched the first-ever Youth Parliament Pakistan (YPP) in 2007 with the support of FES Pakistan and other stakeholders. Since then, 16 Youth Parliaments have built leadership capabilities of around 1,000 young Pakistanis of 18 to 29 years from all provinces and territories of Pakistan. A number of the alumni of the YPP now serve in leadership positions in politics, government, civil service, law, business, and corporate sectors. Taking the leap forward with this MoU signing, PILDAT is very delighted to sustain the historical bond with the FES Pakistan in future as well.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)
P.O. Box 278, F-8, Postal Code: 44220, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: info@pildat.org
Website: www.pildat.org

Islamabad, February 24, 2022 (PPI-OT):In an interactive session on Youth, Pakistan and Challenges of 21st Century, distinguished guest panellist Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra, a prominent educationist, shared her aspirations and expectations for the members of the 17th Youth Parliament Pakistan. She stated that a larger percentage of Pakistan’s population is considered part of the youth. “But this group finds itself lost; it doesn’t understand where to go. The Youth needs opportunities to engage, to thrive.”

She further stressed on the importance of establishing unity rather than indulge in factions. “It is very easy to divide into groups with individual interests. But once divided it is extremely hard to unify for a common cause.” Expressing her opinion on protests as a form of activism she added:

Joining her was Dr. Adil Najam, Dean at Boston University and writer of UNDP’s Human Development Report on Pakistani Youth. He presented a statistical view on the topic, highlighting how the youth should harness its power, as they will be the deciding factor in all future elections until 2045.

He further correlated youth with human development: “Pakistan is the second youngest country after Afghanistan in the South Asian region and stands at 152 on the Human Development Index. Emphasizing the need to focus on the three E’s: Education, Engagement and Employment he stated “The induction of these three aspects on its own is not enough, it has to be quality education, practical engagement and meaningful employment for the youth to genuinely prosper.”

An interactive question and answer session was then conducted with the Members of Youth Parliament, shedding light on how youth’s contribution will shape the future and the implications youth and its development will have on Pakistan’s relations and its overall standing in the world.

Earlier, the 19 Youth Standing Committees held their virtual meetings to decide upon their areas of focus. While the first plenary session has ended, all committees will continue their work on preparing their reports until the next session is convened.

The Youth Parliament of Pakistan is a project of PILDAT and has been running for the past 17 years. The 17th YPP is supported by the Jang/Geo Group, Bank of Punjab, Interloop Limited, Islamabad Serena Hotel, FES Pakistan, University of Lahore and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)
P.O. Box 278, F-8, Postal Code: 44220, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: info@pildat.org
Website: www.pildat.org