6th
Youth Parliament Pakistan Launched
Youth Parliament an ideal Forum to understand and accept ethnicities,
language and cultures of all Pakistanis
Islamabad, June
26; Youth Parliament provides an ideal forum to learn and accept
that there exist different prisms, ethnicities, language and cultures
in Pakistan. It is a tremendous privilege to represent fellow citizens
and this privilege should not be maligned. These views were shared
by Speakers at the launching ceremony ofPILDAT’s 6th Youth
Parliament Pakistan (YPP) 2014.
The
60 young selected candidatesfrom across the country were welcomed
by Honourable Engr. Khurrum Dastgir Khan, MNA,
Federal Minister of Commerce, H.E. Mr.Jesper Moller Sorensen,
Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi,
Patron Youth Parliament Pakistan and former Deputy Speaker of National
Assembly of Pakistan, Mr. Wazir Ahmed Jogezai,
Former Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan, Ms.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja, MNA, Mr. Murad Saeed,
MNA, among others.
As a model Parliament
for young people, the Youth Parliament Pakistan is patterned after
the National Assembly of Pakistan. The Government of Denmark has
through its development assistance been supporting PILDAT’s
Youth Parliament Program since 2010 with the aim to promote democracy
in Pakistan, especially among the youth.
Speaking on the
occasion, Honourable Engr. Khurrum Dastgir Khan,
MNA, Federal Minister of Commerce, thankedthe consistent support
of the illustrious Standing Committee of Youth Parliament in making
successful what he termed as the “tremendous endeavor of the
Youth Parliament Pakistan.” He especially thanked the Danish
Ambassador the support and contribution of the Danish Government
for the Youth Parliament initiative. Mr. Khan said that illiteracy
on democracy is lacking worse than general illiteracy and PILDAT,
through the Youth Parliament, as with other initiatives, is contributing
to removing this illiteracy.
Democracy is
an understanding with the citizens to take them along towards greater
public good. He said that the first lesson that he learnt in Parliament
was that there exist other perspectives and prisms on Pakistan other
than those coming from Punjab. He hoped that this lesson will be
learnt by MYPs as well that there exist different prisms of looking
at this country that we call home. The mere tolerance of other ethnicities,
language and cultures is not democracy but accepting these as legitimate
is the first lesson of democracy. He said that in democracy and
governance, taking everyone along is the first challenge. He said
that Parliament, at its foundation is a contest of ideas. It is
a tremendous privilege to represent fellow citizens and to sit at
a table where decisions are made. This privilege should not be maligned.
He also said that in public service, good intentions alone are not
sufficient. A consistent effort is required both in reforms and
in taking people along. He also said that fruits of democracy never
automatically fall in your lap; democracy requires sustained and
tireless effort. He also quoted AmartyaSen by saying that it is
incorrect to think that a country does not deem to be fit for democracy,
it has to be made fit through democracy. Pakistan’s present
and future prosperity is tied to the sustainability of representative
democracy.
Addressing the
young leaders,Danish Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Jesper Moller Sorensen said that the YPP aimed to provide the young members with numerous
opportunities to understand, to engage in and also to question the
process of democracy. Ambassador Sorensen stated that “Democracy
starts when we learn to listen to others and give space to opinions
which may differ from ours. And this is more important than ever,
as the global economy is connecting us more than ever.”
In his remarks,
Ambassador Sorensentalked about the youth as the driver of change.
“The future is always somewhat uncertain – but what
is certain to me is that it will be the young people of Pakistan
who determine what the future will be”, he said.
He also encouraged
the young parliamentarians to get the most out of the program to
the benefit of their country. “I am strongly convinced that
you cannot talk about democracy or civil empowerment without engaging
the youth. This program is therefore a great opportunity for you
to learn about civic responsibility, team work, tolerance and respect
for other people’s opinion.”
Mr. Faisal
Karim Kundi, Patron of Youth Parliament Pakistan and former
Deputy Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan, thanked the Danish
Embassy for providing support to continue an important initiative
such as Youth Parliament aimed at Pakistani youth’s leadership
skills.
Speaking on the
occasion, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, MNA, said welcomed
the PILDAT initiative of Youth Parliament and said that the young
members must make the most of this experience as such an opportunity
was not available to MNAs like her before entering politics. She
advised youth that youth must strive to achieve integrity in public
life. She also said that Parliament and politics though are much
maligned terms in Pakistan, these are the best mediums for public
service.
Mr. Murad Saeed,
MNA, congratulated the young members on their selection and advised
them to use the opportunity of learning and leadership skills to
the fullest.
Ms. Malika Bukhari,
Advocate, appreciated PILDAT’s contribution towards Pakistani
youth’s development and advised young members to focus on
the critical review of both existing policies and legislation in
order to improve the lives of the citizens.
Welcoming the Honourable
Guests and members of Youth Parliament Pakistan, Mr. Ahmed
Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT, said that PILDAT has completed
5 cycles of YPPs in 7 Years, adding that initiating an idea is the
most important test of the success of an idea. The 6th Youth Parliament
marks a new phase in the life of the institution. A record 2000
Expressions of Interest were received for this batch. The steady
rise indicates increasing interest and trust from the Youth of Pakistan
in the Youth Parliament Pakistan. He said that in this batch, there
is a further strengthening of the six Standing Committees is envisioned.
These Committees will examine 12 key policy areas of the Federal
Government over one year term and will come up with substantive
policy recommendations representing the youth perspective on such
diverse subjects as Foreign Policy, National Security, Education,
Economy, Constitutional and Legal Reforms. These recommendations
will then be shared with the Government, the Parliamentary Committees
and eventually the media. Mr. Mehboobsaidthat Pakistan needs to
strengthen its democratic institutions and inculcate democratic
culture in the society. We need to discourage extremist tendencies
and lack of tolerance for others’ beliefs and views and strengthen
the rule of law. Through initiatives such as the Youth Parliament,
we hope that open and informed debate in the YPP on issues facing
the society will promote the cause of democracy in Pakistan.
The 6th Youth
Parliament Pakistan (2014) will have an enhanced role as the Youth
Standing Committee will be focused on reviewing critical policy
issues and be tasked with developing cogent policy alternatives
for the Parliament and the Government of Pakistan.
A total of 2081
Expressions of Interest, a record high compared to the previous
5 batches, were received for the 6th Youth Parliament Pakistan (2014).
93% of the applicants were male while 7% were female. Geographically,
most of the EOIs received were from Punjab (49%), the rest of the
distribution is as follows: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 20%, Sindh: 14%,
Balochistan: 7%, Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 4%, Federally Administered
Tribal Areas: 3%, GilgitBaltistan: 2% and Islamabad Capital Territory:
1%.
The total membership
of Youth Parliament is 60. There are 16 female (27%) and 44 male
(73%) members of the 6th Youth Parliament Pakistan (2014). The Blue
Party commands a majority with 78% of the seats, whilst the Green
Party holds 22% of the seats.
28 seats are allocated
to the Punjab province, 13 to Sindh, 7 to Khyber Pakhtinkhwa, 4
to Balochistan and 2 each to Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT),
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Jammu & Kashmir
(AJK) and GilgitBaltistan (GB).
Only those young
Pakistanis who were between the ages of 18-29 years on January 01,
2014 were eligible to apply for membership of the Youth Parliament
Pakistan. The average age for a member of the 6th Youth Parliament
is 22 years and 3 months. The merit based selection process for
the 6th Youth Parliament has been led by an independent Steering
Committee.
The 6th Youth
Parliament Pakistan is supported by the Danish International
Development Agency, Government of Denmark.