ISLAMABAD: Parliamen tarians from different Asian countries will meet tomorrow (Thursday) to work out a joint mechanism to tackle challenges faced by democracies in South Asia and South East Asia.
During the two-day seminar titled ‘Democracies in transition, and the challenges they face’, parliamentarians will explore new avenues for establishing better linkages among parliaments in Asia.
The Senate of Pakistan, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) will host the seminar. The event is taking place as a result of the CPA’s new strategic plan calling for strengthening the association at the branch, regional and international levels. Pakistan in its capacity as a member of the Asian region has volunteered to host this seminar.
The seminar will be attended by CPA Secretary General Akbar Khan, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, representatives of parliaments of the South Asian and South East Asian regions, representatives of both the Houses of the Pakistani parliament and speakers of the provincial assemblies.
The Senate has ensured that this seminar fulfils the objectives of the CPA to promote constitutional, legislative, economic, cultural and social aspects of parliamentary democracies.
On the second day of the seminar, three panel discussions are scheduled – titled ‘Role of civil society in democratic transition’, ‘Democracy in diversity’ and ‘Transparency standards in democracy’ – which will be chaired by speakers of the provincial assemblies.
Regarding the event, Raza Rabbani expressed the hope that with regular interactions like these, Pakistan could play a constructive part to address problems related to freedom, national integration, implementation of policies and powers of the central government in order to establish itself firmly as a true democracy.
Rabbani said, “A challenge is a difficulty that carries within it an opportunity for progress. By overcoming challenges, democracies can achieve success and social prosperity. We are all, more or less, democracies in transition.”
