Islamabad, February 21st, 2019: Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) organized an “Orientation Programme on Parliamentary Best Practices” for first-term Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan from February 20-21, 2019 at PIPS, Islamabad. The two-day event was held in collaboration with the UK Parliament and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA) as well as the National Assembly Secretariat, Pakistan. The UK delegation, headed by Hon. Naz Shah-MP included Hon. Faisal Rashid-MP, Baroness Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Lord Rogan-Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, Mr. Jon Davies-Chief Executive CPA UK and Ms. Umamah Basit-Programme Officer CPA-UK.
Member of the National Assembly and Convener Pak-UK Parliamentary Friendship Group, Syed Fakhar Imam, inaugurated the event. While addressing the participants as the chief guest, he said that the young parliamentarians have the potential and adequate knowledge to become the future dynamic leaders of the world. Ms. Naz Shah-MP emphasized on the need to build a positive global image of Pakistan and offered full support of the CPA-UK in overcoming the hurdles in doing so. She also encouraged the Parliamentarians to participate in the world-wide training conducted by the CPA-UK in different countries. Chief Executive of CPA-UK Jon Davies, in his remarks was of the view that cross country exchange programmes like these would be beneficial for Parliamentarians of both countries. Executive Director PIPS, Mr. Zafarullah Khan in lauded the role of CPA-UK in strengthening and promoting the democratic values.
The two-day orientation programme included several thematic sessions related to the Parliamentary Decorum and Traditions, Standards in Public Office, the Legislative Process and Post Legislative Scrutiny. The participants and the delegation in these interactive sessions drew parallels between the British and Pakistani Parliamentary systems. The event concluded with vote of thanks by the Executive Director and presentation of mementos to the visiting delegate.