ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani has observed that contemporary challenges calls for a more assertive role by parliament to carry out effective legislation and hold the government accountable.
He said that parliamentarians need to utilise their knowledge, vision and experience for quality legislation and accountability, and thus promoting good governance which is a prerequisite for strengthening the democratic foundations of the country.
The chairman Senate made these remarks on Wednesday while chairing a session titled, ‘How to be an effective legislator’ at workshop on procedural aspects of parliamentary business organised by the Senate Secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Later, MNA and former Speaker of National Assembly Syed Fakhar Imam chaired the session of the workshop, and said that parliament is the linchpin of the governance structure in any democratic state and should be the centre of all policy decisions.
He said Pakistan is in dire need of making the parliament a thorough working institution by having a clear understanding of the instruments available and making efficient use of the same.
He said that the situation the country finds itself in today is reflective of the misgovernance over the past seventy years despite having a parliamentary democracy system.
During the interactive session that followed the briefing, the senators put forward some pertinent questions and observations relating to making the house business and committees work more effectively.
It was agreed that more work needs to be done to make legislature and legislators relevant in the country, to carry out quality legislation, and to strongly hold government to account which is the core function of the parliament.
The workshop also included sessions on technical and procedural aspects of legislative business, importance of legislative drafting unit of the Senate and parliamentary tools available to members.
