MPs’ delegation leaves for US

ISLAMABAD: A 14-member delegation of the National Assembly and the Senate departed for Washington, DC, to take part in the United States-Pakistan Legislators Dialogue Forum being held in Washington D.C, USA, from April 11-17.
The 14-member MPs delegation will join their US counterparts under the Co-chairmanship of Senator Aitzaz Ahsan (PPP), Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, MNA who is also chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The MPs delegation comprises Senator Farhatullah Babar (PPP), Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Aasiya Nasir MNA, Syaid Ghazi Gulab Jamal MNA, Muhammad Afzal Khan MNA, Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak MNA, Syed Naveed Qamar MNA, Omar Ayub Khan MNA, Sanjay Perwani MNA, Shafqat Mahmood MNA, Shaza Fatima Khawaja MNA and Shazia Marri.
The purpose of the US-Pakistan Legislators Dialogue Forum is to initiate legislators to structure dialogue and improve mutual understanding as both countries re-calibrate the strategic depth and breadth of the relationship during the US drawdown from Afghanistan, and discuss each other’s main concerns and priorities going forward.
The Dialogue Forum specifically aims to strengthen legislative ties and form new relationships as a complement and balance to longstanding military and Executive-Ministerial ties. The Dialogue Forum will help broaden the relationship beyond the traditional areas of cooperation such as security and economic cooperation to explore areas such as trade, investment, education, and democratic governance, and enable participating legislators to identify and support business, civil society, and public-private partnerships that benefit their constituencies and their countries.
During the six-day Dialogue Forum, the Pakistani delegation will interact with members of the US House of Representatives and the Senate. Meetings and interactions on the sidelines include such as with the US-Pakistan Business Council, the US Agency for International Development and the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), among others.
The US-Pakistan Legislators Dialogue Forum is an independent initiative. It is facilitated by the Convergence Centre of Policy Resolution, the Consensus Building Institute in the US and PILDAT in Pakistan with support from the United States Institute of Peace-USIP.