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| Youngsters urged to join politics to address real issues |
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Saturday, November 07, 2009
Our correspondent
Islamabad
Terming them the real wealth of the country, speakers urged young parliamentarians to join mass politics in order to address real issue faced by the countrymen instead of stressing more on paper work and policy making.
These views were expressed by parliamentarians including Senator S M Zafar, Dr. Doniya Aziz, and Khurram Dastagir Khan at the inaugural session of the Youth Parliament 2209-10. National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi who is also Patron of the Youth Parliament inaugurated the event. Aimed to inculcate values and spirit of democracy in youth of Pakistan, the Youth Parliament is a mock institution formed on the basis of population criteria used by National Assembly however representation is also given to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. This year, there are 48 members of the parliament with 79 per cent male and 21 per cent female members on merit basis.
There are two mock parties in the parliament with Blue Party representing liberals and green party representing moderates. Dr. Doniya Aziz is serving as advisor to Blue Party whereas Khurram Dastagir Khan guides the Green Party. Incidentally, the blue party formed a majority for the third consecutive year bagging 32 seats as opposed to 16 members.
Highlighting the importance of inculcating youth perspective in the policymaking, Senator S M Zafar said that their recommendations could provide lead to the government to deal with issues faced by the country. He urged young Parliamentarians come to the parliament well prepared about the subject they wanted to speak on. Warning them about the Harassment Bill recently passed by the parliament, he said that it contained a vast definition of harassment that could include any irritating act.
Khurram Dastagir Khan said that young Parliamentarians should come out in the field and feel the problems faced by common persons if they want the nation to enjoy the fruits of democracy. In addition to indulging in long discussions over policy making, he said that equal importance should be given to implementation side. He said that politics was the name of continuous negotiations.
Dr. Doniya Aziz pointed out that 70 per cent of the Parliament members belong to 7 to 11 families. She hoped that the coming generation would finally change culture of politics in Pakistan. Regretting limited authority given to MNAs, she said that they do not even have right to dismiss an incompetent worker. “While blaming MNAs for bad governance, people should also keep these hurdles in mind,” she said. Rejecting the impression that members of the Parliament only discuss issues in the house, she said that being a member of the Parliament was a hard work. “They have to meet and solve the problems of hundreds of people per day,” she said. She said that the present government was elected for five years and it should complete its term no matter what are the conditions.
Blaming the impatience of politicians for past dictatorships, Faisal Karim Kundi said that military was always asked to step in by the politicians. He said that active standing committees were vital for strong Parliament and effective accountability mechanism. He congratulated the newly elected members of the third Youth Parliament for their selection and urged them to play active role in future mainstream politics.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
