The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) organized four day National Advanced Legislative Drafting Course for officers working in legislation wings and drafting units at the National Assembly, Senate and four provincial assemblies of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh as well as PIPS. More than 30 drafters and officials attended in this workshop held jointly by PIPS and the Musthkam Parlimaan Project of European Union being implemented by GIZ and PIPS.
The proceedings commenced on day one – October 28, 2025 with recitation of the verses of the Holy Quran. Mr. Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka, Director General (Research), PIPS, delivered welcome address. He expressed gratitude to Ms Brekhna Ajmal Project Manager EU and team lead MuP, Ms Mary Cummins, as well as PIPS team especially PDP and C wing for working together with staff of MuP in bringing legislative drafters across all legislatures in Pakistan.
Ms. Brekhna Ajmal Project Manager EU expressed heartfelt gratitude to Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) and Mustehkam Parlimaan EU project for organizing the National Advanced Legislative Drafting Workshop where officers from National Assembly, Senate and Provincial Assemblies of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are all gathered under one roof to learn and undergo experiential learning on complexities of legislative drafting.
Ms Mary Cummins, Team Lead MuP Project EU, eulogized Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services for their endeavours to educate and build professional skills amongst parliamentary staffers, which goes a long way in providing meaningful technical expertise for parliamentary institutions that remain the highest national forum of oversight and legislation aimed at securing good governance for well-being of the people. Mr Taj Muhammad, Director PDP and C moderated the four-day training workshop and conducted Recap through the different participants at the start of each day. Mr Wajid Aslam Asstt Coord Officer from the PIPS Research wing recorded the proceedings of four-day workshop as Rapporteur.
Mr. Zaka DG Research PIPS expressed his hope that this national workshop will help us mutually learn and consolidate through practice the five key principles in drafting bills, Firstly, drafter must make sure that true intention of the legislators and legislature is transformed in the proposed draft, secondly, language is simple and understandable, thirdly, appropriate communication in done to ensure inclusivity to take on board stakeholders feedback especially the marginalized strata, women and all concerned institutions and wider civil society. Also, the draft must be prepared keeping in mind that it must prove to survive the test of time to deliver the desired impact and results that it is expected to bring in terms of changing transformation in societal behaviour it is meant to secure. Thus a drafter must foresee the effectiveness of the draft. Last but not the least, its is important that it is efficient, meaning it ensures task required in done in a cost-effective manner with proper accountability mechanisms. Let us approach this opportunity with curiosity, openness, and commitment to continuous improvement, so that together we may contribute to a more robust and effective parliamentary tradition in Pakistan.
Senator Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari chairing the session advised participants of the imperativeness of good and viable drafting skills and anticipating the impact of every bill under consideration. He encouraged drafters to continue their learning curve in developing laws and they are ready to serve Members and committees where all laws are sent for detailed assessment. Hon Senator also narrated how as a Chairperson of Standing Committee he would setup the agenda and try to discuss same with Members in advance to meetings so as to be better prepared and to give appropriate time for legislative reviews of darft bills.
DG Research and Acting Executive Director PIPS Mr Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka also noted Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s great emphasizes on need for correct and precise drafting of bills as the First Hon Speaker/ President of the Constitutuent/National Assembly of Pakistan in 1947-48, He underlined an anecdote from Hector Belitho’s Book Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan, where Quaid e Azam asked his Secretary to amend drafts by making language easy with smaller sentences and precise professional drafting without fail.
Syed Mohsin Abbas, Adjunct faculty PIPS on drafting presented the Easy Language theory of drafting and its worldwide recognition since 1970s so as to make understanding of laws easier for public at large and especially stakeholders who are directly affected by any law and institutions who are expected to implement them
In the afternoon session, seasoned international legislative drafter Ms Lorna Seitz from California University and Legislative Institute US, joined virtually to conduct an interactive webinar on Post Legislative Scrutiny, Practices, challenges and opportunities. She presented different international case studies of Argentina comparing them with the challenges in Pakistan. She emphasized the need to conduct financial assessments, environmental impact assessment, needs assessment and various other assessments to see as whether a law was able to achieve what was expected of it with regards to improvement in societal behavioural patterns.
On day two, dated 29th October, 2025, Sheikh Sarfraz Ahmed, Lead facilitator of the workshop conducted detailed sessions on following key areas of: i. Ingredients of a Bill in General; ii. Structure of a Bill in General; and iii. Short title, commencement & extent clause, definitions. The training methodology included discussion on case studies of different local laws of the country.
The day three 30th October 2025 agenda included imperative topics of i. Legislative Competence and Constitutionality, ii. Variants & Complexities of Ordinance laid as a Bill; and iii. Consequences of being a statutory body corporate and statutory non- body corporate. He also deliberated on Repeal and Saving clauses and utilized Examples and Case-Studies to help participants undergo an experiential learning of key concepts followed by interactive Question and Answers session.
On 31st October, 2025, Sheikh Sarfraz Ahmed, Legislative Consultant, Ministry of Railways, conducted three hour long session on i. Drafting of legislation in fire-fighting circumstances and ii. Methodology of legislative drafting of provisions struck down by the Court. He undertook practicum exercises with participants for enhancing comprehensive understanding of all parliamentary drafters. The Participants from all Houses appreciated the workshop contents, delivery and overall arrangements, relevancy and academic imperativeness for all legislatures of Pakistan.
The Participants not only undertook legislative assessment and drafting exercises but they presented and defended their bills in Qs and Ans session. Ms Mary Cummins, Team Lead MuP and Mr Muhammad Rashid Mafzool Zaka, DG (Research) and Acting Executive Director PIPS appreciated the keen participation of drafters as well as case study methodology utilized by the faculty members. Senator Muhammad Mohsin Leghari distributed Certificates to all participants attending the full workshop. Mr Zaka lauded DG PDP and C, Director PDP and C along with all team members for their unflinching hardwork with team MuP to make the workshop a resounding success. The day concluded with the slogan PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!.