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Youth Parliament Pakistan 2008-2009 concludes its Fourth Session
May 06, 2009 – May 10, 2009

Fourth Session of the Youth Parliament Pakistan: May 06-10, 2009

The fourth session of Youth Parliament Pakistan was scheduled from Wednesday May 06 to Sunday 10, 2009 at Hotel Margala Islamabad. The fourth session of the Youth Parliament was presided over by Mr. Wazir Ahmed Jogzai, Former Deputy Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan and an esteemed member of the Youth Parliament Steering Committee.

In session 4, the Youth Parliament was addressed by Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, MNA and Information Secretary PML-N on the topic of “Impact of National and International Media on Pakistan while Mr. Imran Khan, Former Captain, Pakistan Cricket Team & Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) addressed the Youth Parliament on “Terrorism and its impact on Cricket.” Mr. Daniyal Aziz, Former Chairman National Reconstruction Bureau and Advisor, Governance Institutes Network International (GINI) spoke to MYPs on the topic of Local Government System – Reforms and Review.

Issues such as arrest of Pakistani students in the UK, government’s authorisation of military action in Swat against militancy, the law and order situation in Karachi, etc were some other issues that were debated in the house.

The Crisis Simulation Exercise, a new feature for MYPs which was introduced in the 3^rd session of YPP, was continued and the MYPs present in the session were made a part of the Crisis Simulation Exercise and presented their crisis solutions based on a hypothetical issue to the House at the end of the exercise.

First and Second Sitting: May 06, 2009

The first sitting was held on May, 06 2009. The business began with a calling attention notice jointly initiated by Mr. Mohammad Essam Rehmani (YP51-SINDH03) and Mr. Mohsin Saeed (YP29-PUNJAB10) which invited the attention of the house to the deduction of the funds to the Strategic Planning Division up to 35 per cent. This Division deals with the nuclear weapons of Pakistan, and the movers of the calling attention notice declared it as a conspiracy against the security and sensitive institutions of Pakistan. The major point of discussion was that these institutions are the security providers and they should be given the maximum funds. Youth  Prime Minister Mr. Ahmed Ali Babar (YP21-PUNJAB02) admitted that more than half of the population of Pakistan is living below the poverty line and suffering from problems like unemployment and thus Social welfare of the public should be the prime responsibility and priority of the Government. In this connection, deductions of unnecessary funds are a part of that priority. He said that when the government will deal with big issues like poverty, then it would provide huge funds to these institutions but right now deductions of unnecessary funds are the top priority.

A resolution was moved by Mr. Allah Ditta Tahir (YP34-PUNJAB15) requesting the house to discuss the unethical arrest of Pakistani students in the UK. The Government of Pakistan should take steps and device measures to assure the security and tension free environment for the students studying or doing research work in UK and other foreign countries. Both parties in the house severely criticised the arrest and levelling of allegations against Pakistani students by the UK government and demanded that Pakistan should ask for an apology from the British government. The “Islamophobia” has now turned into “Pakistan phobia” in the western capitals who are engaging in reckless, irresponsible and unethical actions against Pakistani youth,” said MYPs, which is resulting in maligning the youth, the country and a cause of severe stress and torture to Pakistan at large, they believed. The Government of Pakistan should take swift and concrete actions to assure the security and risk-free environment for the youth of the country. The MYPs also strongly criticised the role of Pakistani High Commission in UK which could not take up the case of the students effectively. After a heavy debate the resolution was passed.

Mr. Niaz Mustafa (YP04-BALOCHISTAN02) moved another resolution stating that to introduce and implement result-oriented democracy in Pakistan government should introduce a new set of law of land reforms and its distribution among the general masses to end up feudalism and WADERA SHAHI in Pakistan. Both sides strongly supported the point saying that these reforms would help the common man to understand the system of land reforms and it would help the grass root level people to have their part of land in the Wadera Shahi system of Pakistan. It would help promote democracy at the grassroots level said the MYPs. The resolution was adopted through a unanimous vote in the house.

The business in the second sitting started with a resolution moved by Ms. Gul Bano (YP54-SINDH06) that government should restart its soft-loan policy with easy documentation process for youth to pursue their education in the country and abroad. Both parties of the Youth parliament agreed on the point that government should introduce soft loan policies saying that it would help the students to excel more in the field of education and it would also help the country when these educated people would come back and serve their nation. The member stressed to involve the private banks in the scheme. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Mr. Mohammad Abdullah Zaidi (YP-53SINDH05) moved a resolution that the government should take two-tier approach involving active diplomacy & reorganizing Pakistan’s role in the UN to find a quick & dynamic solution to the Kashmir issue. They house was of the opinion that Kashmir issue has taken a lot of time now it should be solved and the government should come up with a strong policy on that, the members focussed on Pakistan getting involved in active diplomacy and re-organizing its role in the United Nations to find a quick solution to this problem. By getting involved in the active diplomacy Pakistan will get a lot of suggestions and help from the other countries. The resolution was approved by a unanimous vote in the house.

Last business of the day was a calling attention notice by Mr. Abdullah Khan Leghari (YP48-PUNJAB29), which was later changed into a resolution, regarding the implementation of Nizam-e-Adal regulation in Swat and the problems associated representing hindrance to peace in the region. The house was of the opinion that consensus of the common people was very important before passing this regulation. The members highlighted the problems faced by the people who are now migrating to other areas due to the crucial situation in their own area and that the government should take appropriate steps to help them. They criticized the strong reaction of Government against the statement of Sufi Muhammad regarding denial of democracy. Youth Prime Minister Mr. Ahmed Ali Babar (YP21-PUNJAB02) committed to the agenda of providing speedy justice and economic and social balance in the region so that no one could blackmail poor people. The resolution was unanimously passed by the house.

Third Sitting: May 07, 2009

The third sitting began with a calling attention notice by Mr. Muhammad Sadan Nasir (YP06-Balochistan04) inviting attention of the house to the recent killing of political leaders in Balochistan. These killings have resulted in increased sympathy for separatists and have given opportunity to miscreants for executing anti-Pakistan propaganda in Balochistan, he said in his introductory remarks. The house was of the opinion that the separatist movements are gaining strengths due to incidents like these and a uniform and careful policy review is urgently required to deal with the developing crisis in Balochistan. The members said that anti Pakistan elements would take benefits from such kind of events and it would help them to do propaganda against Pakistan. Economic and social deprivation is the major factor that created the rebellion school of thought in Balochistan. Youth Prime Mr. Ahmed Ali Babar (YP21-PUNJAB02) admitted and committed to compensate the rights of Balochis to minimize the reactionary hatred and intended to bring the facts before media for public.

Next on the agenda was a motion moved by Mr. Mohammad Essam Rehmani (YP51-SINDH03) requesting the house to discuss the ongoing political and ethnic clashes and racial profiling on part of some Political parties in Karachi. The house was of the opinion that major political parties of Karachi including MQM, PPPP and ANP, are alleviating fire of ethnic, racial and political differences in the province that is leading the country to economic crisis. Karachi is the hub of trade of Pakistan and has become the play ground of political parties. The motion was extensively discussed and was unanimously adopted as a resolution.

Fourth and Fifth Sitting: May 08, 2009

The Youth Parliament discussed the impacts of national and international media on Pakistani society. Business of the house began with a resolution moved by Mr. Allah Ditta Tahir (YP34-PUNJAB15) that Media should avoid selling sensationalism which is subject to undermining of the national interest. PEMRA authority should be respected and the parameters should not be violated, however controversial legislation is subject to scrutiny. With a heavy debate on the topic the house was of the opinion that media should not promote such things which are not in the favour of the country or which are going against the national interest. Media should not sell sensationalism merely for earning fame and popularity. Opposition raised a point that freedom of media cannot be curbed on which the government party said that nobody is trying to curb the freedom of media but the PEMRA should have a strong hold on the channels and should question those channels who show things which are not in favour of the country’s national interest. This resolution was unanimously accepted by the Parliament.

Lending unanimous and unequivocal support to the government’s authorisation of military action against militants in Swat, the Youth Parliament Pakistan stated that the media, civil society and the people of Pakistan should extend complete moral support to the government and armed forces in fighting militancy in Pakistan. The resolution moved by Mr. Waqas Aslam Rana (YP38-PUNJAB19) and Mr. Hamid Hussain (YP09-FATA02) was supported by the MYPs across the board and was unanimously passed by the Youth Parliament.

The Youth Parliament hosted Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, MNA; Secretary Information – PML-N and former Federal Minister for Education as a guest speaker on the subject of ‘Impact of national and international media on Pakistani Society.’  He while sharing his point of views with the members said the role of media he said, credit should not be given to any government for the freedom of media, it’s all because of the revolution in the field of information technology and neither any dictator nor any democratic government can curb it. It is due to freedom of expression that participation of both genders made the long march of March 16, 2009 the great success. In spite of awareness and extensive outreach of media and information there is a dire need of critical and creative thinking in youth so that they can discriminate between right and wrong and this could only be achieved through change in the existing education system and introducing equal and standard education system in the whole country, said Mr. Ahsan Iqbal.

Afterwards, a resolution was moved by Syed Waqas Ali Kausar, (YP01-AJK01) which asked the house to discuss Cross Media ownership should be banned in order to bring diversity and transparency in media. There was a heavy debate on the issue and there were a lot of opinions on this issue some members were of the opinion that cross media ownership should not be banned as it would be unfair because everyone has the right to express himself as everyone has the freedom of expression. After a huge debate on it the resolution was referred to the Standing Committee on Information.

Another resolution was moved by Mr. Muhammad Abdullah Zaidi (YP53-SINDH05) saying that the partisanship of the Western media is both unnecessary &hyped & serious measures should be taken to counter it. The house said that partisanship of western media is always hyped and biased; it is always against the Muslims and obviously against Pakistanis no matter where they are”. Many examples were quoted in the discussion from both sides of the parliament. This resolution was approved unanimously.

In this sitting, Youth Parliament Standing Committee on Information presented the media policy, in which they demanded the inclusion of Journalists in PEMRA management, policy proposed further to ban the illegal radio stations and they requested the live telecast of the proceeding of the National Assembly session.

Sixth and Seventh Sitting: May 09, 2009

The business of the house began with a resolution moved by Mr. Ahmad Noor (YP08-FATA01) stating that the Youth Parliament of Pakistan strongly condemns the discriminatory decision of ICC which deprived Pakistan to host world cup 2011 and demands that ICC should take back the decision because terrorism is a universal phenomenon and should not be confined just to Pakistan. The resolution was debated heavily by the government and opposition as they were of the opinion that it is very risky that you call international teams and are not able to provide them security and these days terrorism is on that extreme in the country that the government cannot assure the security of so many cricket teams at one platform. The resolution was rejected by the house after a heavy debate.

Mr. Muhammad Essam Rehmani (YP51-SINDH03), Mr. Zameer Ahmed Malik (YP50-SINDH02) and Mr. Abdullah Zaidi (YP53-SINDH05) moved a resolution stating that the impact and consequences of the strike on 12^th May called in Karachi-the economic hub of Pakistan, this strike may precipitate into ethnic clashes and racial profiling on the part of the political parties that have called the strike. The movers of the resolution were of the opinion that for this incident parties who are ruling in Karachi should accountable, parties like MQM, ANP and PPP. They were of the point of view that on 12^th May there should be a holiday on 12^th May. The resolution was unanimously approved by the house after voting. After the four hours the Chief Minister for Sindh Mr. Syed Qaim Ali Shah announced a holiday on 12^th May.

The Youth Parliament was privileged that day by the presence of Mr. Imran Khan, Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and former Captain of Pakistan Cricket Team to share his views with the members on ‘Impact of Terrorism on Cricket’. He said that cricket has also suffered a lot because of the ‘war on terror’. He said Instead of giving shut up call to do more orders by US, Pakistan government is following the ‘Give us more Dollars and we would Do More killings’ strategy and putting the nation and people of Pakistan on stake. Discussing the solution to the problem,  he said that fact finding mission should have been sent to Swat to analyze the situation there and the military action should be the last option as non of the operations whether is Iraq or Afghanistan solved the problem even by the very big military forces of USA. All Parties Conference should have been called to develop a consensus should be developed in this regard. He further added that Balochistan crisis and Military action in Swat driving us back to 1971 situation. Imran Khan praised the level of knowledge and understanding of the Youth Parliament Members on the issues of National Importance also.

After lunch break, a resolution was moved by Ms. Sofia Saeed (YP52-SINDH04) that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should organize a number of tournaments on domestic level by involving sponsors, departments and all the concerned parties to save the whole structure of cricket. The resolution was appreciated  in the house and most of the members were of the opinion that this would be the best way to save cricket in the country and it would also bring new talent in the field of cricket and the resolution was passed with majority of votes from the house. 

Eighth and Ninth Sitting: May 10, 2009

The business of the house today focussed on local government: reform and review. This sitting began with a resolution moved by Mr. Hamid Hussain (YP09-FATA02) saying that Local government systems not suitable for political system of Pakistan because it is overriding an interfacing with the federal and provincial level of management. The mover was of the opinion that the Local government ordinance should be reviewed and represented again in the provincial assemblies and that bureaucracy should change its attitude in the government. The house didn’t go with the resolution and was of the point of view that if some corrections are made in the Local government system it would be very workable for the country.  The resolution was rejected by the house unanimously.

To give a deep insight of Local governments, Mr. Daniyal Aziz, former MNA and Principal Advisor of Governance Institutes of Networks International – GINI was invited He while addressing the Youth Parliament said that Local government is the best to empower the democracy at the grass root level, he further added that the Local government is threatened by the traditional bureaucratic method of governance and its efforts and attempts of power snatching, causing hindrances in the smooth functioning of the Local government system. The power is meant for the people and thus public representatives like MNAs and MPAs are the people who can demand and use the powers while civil servants are not there to rule, they are there to provide good governance. 

Mr. Zameer Malik (YP50-SINDH02) moved another resolution saying that the upcoming Local government elections should not be conducted on Non-Party basis and Political Parties should be allowed to run for Local government elections.  The mover was of the opinion that local government elections should be held on party bases as the parties have access to the grass-root level and they are the true representatives of the common people, the house agreed with the resolution and favoured it and hence the resolution was passed with a large number of votes.

Last business of this session was a resolution moved by Mr. Waqar Nayar (YP05-BALOCHISTAN03) & Mr. Abdullah Zaidi (YP53-SINDH05). This resolution highlighted the haste with which the peace agreement was scrapped. They said its believed that once an accord was signed, all possibilities should have been explored and more time should have been given, before resorting to an all out action. There was a huge debate in the house on this resolution some of the members were of the opinion that military action was the only possibility left with the government while other said that government should have considered other options as well. After a huge debate on it, the resolution was passed with majority of votes.

The session was prorogued till the next session expected to take place in the first week of August 2009.

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