National Assembly of Pakistan – Page 76

December 20, 2018

NA Speaker and Deputy Speaker Condole the death of Father of Muhammad Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary Central Additional Secretary General of Pakistan Tehreek- E- Insaf

Islamabad, December 20, 2018 (PPI-OT): Asad Qaiser, Speaker and Qasim Khan Suri, Deputy Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan have condoled the sad demise of the Father of Muhammad Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary, Central Additional Secretary General Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

In their separate condolence messages to Muhammad Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker expressed grief and sorrow over the passing away his Father. They prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss with equanimity.

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December 18, 2018

We will have to work above the party line and territorial affiliation to establish a prosperous healthy and stable Pakistan: Says NA Speaker

Islamabad, December 18, 2018 (PPI-OT): Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has said that human development is the top priority of the incumbent Government. He said that the progress of any society depended upon the better growth of its young generation and Pakistan Tehreek Insaf has made this philosophy its manifesto to bring revolution and establish a new Pakistan.

He further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has taking the Nation into confidence on sensitive issue of stunting and gave its removal the main goal of his Government. He expressed these views while addressing the meeting of National Parliamentary Task force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at Parliament House on Tuesday.

The Speaker said that he is pleased to know that SDGs Parliamentary task force has already being working on the subject of Stunting and also hold Conference on the topic of malnutrition of the children. He said that after the passage of 18th Amendment, most of the matters regarding the SDGs have been transferred to Provincial Government. However, the federation was still responsible of those international guarantees which signed by the State of Pakistan. He said that being real representative of Parliament has right to oversight and guide the people and executive in these matters.

The Speaker stressed upon the Parliamentary Task force to promote contacts with all Provincial Assemblies including Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that he will write letters to all Provincial Assemblies Speakers and give them suggestion for Constitution of such task force in their respective Assemblies. He expressed the hope that better results will be achieved with cooperation between Federal and Provincial task forces. He said that Pakistan has the honour that its Parliament is the 1st Parliament of the world which included SDGs in its Parliamentary agenda and established up to date SDGs Secretariat in Parliament House with cooperation of United Nation Development Program. He said that we all have work together above party line for prosperous healthy and stable Pakistan.

Speaker assured all possible cooperation of National Assembly Secretariat to SDGs Parliamentary taskforce. While updating the members of Task force about Project Management Unit (PMU) in the National Assembly Secretariat he advised the member of Task Force to utilize the facilities provided in PMU. He said that he has issued direction to PMU to prepare five year strategic plan for fifteen National Assembly and a committee comprising of representatives all Parliamentary Parties in the National Assembly will also be constituted in this regards. He further said that an important chapter regarding the SDGs task force will also be a part of this strategic plan.

The convener of National Parliamentary Taskforce SDGs Mr. Riaz Fatyana highlighted the issues of malnutrition and stunting during the meeting. He stressed the need for elimination of poverty and illiteracy to achieve SDGs agenda 2030. He also informed the meeting that SDGs Parliamentary Task force is going to be organized a national conference on SDGs in March 2019 and regional conference on SDGs in mid of October 2019.

Besides convener of National Parliamentary Task Force on SDGs the MNAs who attended the meeting were Nawabzada Shah Zain Bugti, Ms. Kishwer Zehra, Mr. Ali Wazir, Ms. Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, Ms. Kanwal Shauzab, Ms. Mehnaz Akber Aziz, Ms. Shandana Gulzar Khan, Dr. Nausheen Hamid, Mr. Asad Mehmood, Mr. Faiz Ullah, Mr. Junaid Akbar, Ms. Wajiha Akram and Mr. Ramesh Lal.

December 17, 2018

Pakistan fully supports Palestinians right of self determination and condemn Israel’s ’ illegal occupation on Palestine territories: NA Deputy Speaker

Islamabad, December 17, 2018 (PPI-OT): Deputy Speaker, National Assembly Mr. Qasim khan Suri has said that Government and people of Pakistan have great affection for Al-Quds Sharif and strongly condemned its unlawful inclusion in Israel’s territories. He said that Pakistan’s Parliament, Government and people had always condemned human rights violations in Palestine and brutal killing of innocent people of Palestine by Israel forces. According to a message received from Istanbul, Turkey, he expressed these views while addressing the 2nd Conference of the Parliamentary Association for Al-Quds’’ at Istanbul today.

The Deputy Speaker said that Pakistan has fully supported idea for resolution of all international disputes specially Arab-Israel dispute for durable peace in Middle East. He said that Pakistan strongly condemns the decision of United State for recognizing Jerusalem as Capital of Israel and shifting its embassy in occupied Al-Quds Sharif. He said that US decision was violation of resolutions of United Nation Security Council. He said that Pakistani Parliament while condemning the US decision of shifting its Embassy in Al-Quds Sharif has passed resolutions against this decision and expressed its commitment to stand with people of Palestine.

Mr. Qasim Khan Suri said that Pakistan always raised the Kashmir and Palestine issues at all regional and international forums and condemned the Israel’s aggression against the people of Palestine. He said that people of Pakistan expressed complete solidarity with their Palestinian brethren and condemned human rights violations in Palestine by Israel’s Armed Forces. He said that peace in Arab countries was imperative for the peace of whole world.

He stressed upon the International Community to persuade US for early provision of US funds to United Nations for provision of food, education and health facilities to Palestinian refugees in occupied territories Lebanon, Jordan and Syria as suspension of US funds to United National Work and Relief Agency for Palestine had halt its operations. He urge upon Muslim Ummah to come forward to help Palestinian people who are suffering from severe human crises in occupied territories.

The Deputy Speaker urged upon the participants of the meeting to play their due role to overcome the challenges being faced by the Muslim Ummah and mitigate the sufferings of Palestinian people. He thanked the Speaker of Grand National Assembly of Turkey for organizing the conference on important issue of Palestine and also appreciated the endeavour of president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan for unity of Ummah.

The Parliamentary delegation of Pakistan headed by Deputy Speaker National Assembly and comprising of MNA’s Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani and Mr. Muhammad Najeeb Haroon, is attending the Conference besides parliamentary delegations of 74 countries.

December 11, 2018

NA Speaker Initiates Contacts with Government and Opposition to Expedite the Process of Legislation

Islamabad, December 11, 2018 (PPI-OT): Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has started regular contacts with Government and Opposition parties in the National Assembly to accelerate the process of Legislation. In this regard, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser presided over a meeting of leaders of the Government sides at Parliament House on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Hussain Qureshi, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem, State Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, Chief Whip Mohammad Amir Doggar and Parliamentary Secretary Law and Justice Ms. Maleeka Ali Bukhari.

The participants of the meeting gave their suggestions for expediting the processes of legislation and make it more effective. Speaking on this occasion, Asad Qaiser said that the people have sent us to this House to solve their problems whereas legislation is the only source by which we can resolve their problems. He said that being Speaker of the House, it was his constitutional responsibility to facilitate Government and Opposition in enactment of legislation and today’s meeting with the Government side step forward in this regards.

Stressing the Minister to contacts with Opposition Parties, the Speaker said that the Government and Opposition were the beauty of democracy and it became more apparent when both sides were thinking alike for the interest of people and the progress of the country. He further said that to remove all the bottlenecks in formation of Standing Committees of the House was his top priority.

The Speaker expressed the hope that bottlenecks in formation of the Standing Committees will be ended during current Session of the National Assembly. He said that he will strive to resolve the matters pertaining to Standing Committees with mutual consultation of Government side and Opposition Parties. The participants also gave their suggestions for smooth functioning of the House during the current Session.

December 9, 2018

Pakistan desires multi-dimensional ties with our neighbours and entire region: says NA Speaker

Islamabad, December 09, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan Asad Qaiser has called for greater interaction and people-to-people contact with our neighbours and entire region for the sake of peace and development. He stressed the need for new synergies of parliamentary and economic cooperation among each other. He expressed these views while talking to Dr. Hassan Rohani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mr. Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Republic of China Mr. Chen Zhu and Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav V. Volodin separately on the sidelines of the second Speakers’ Conference in Tehran, Iran.

While talking to the Iranian President, the Speaker said that the Pakistan enjoys close cordial relations with our brotherly neighbour, Iran. The shared sentiments of our friendship are deeply rooted in historical bonds spread over centuries of shared faith, culture, traditions and economic complementarities, he added. Recalling the recent statement of the Iranian Supreme leader in support of the Kashimiris, Asad Qaiser thanked President of Iran and Iranian government for supporting the Kashmir cause. The Kashmir problem is the long standing unresolved disputes which require resolution of problem in accordance with UN Security council resolutions, the Speaker said.

The President of Iran Dr. Hassan Rohani warmly welcomed the Pakistan’s Parliamentary delegation in Tehran and wished the safe stay in the beautiful capital of Iran. He stated that the Iran consider Pakistan as a very important brotherly neighboring Muslim country. The bonds of friendship between Pakistan and Iran have been maintained irrespective of any government in power both in Iran and Pakistan due to commonality of culture. Both of nations have deep links and it go down the long history and rich civilization. The Iranian President stressed upon the need to increase cooperation between Pakistan and Iran in the field of trade, commerce, energy and security.

While meeting with Mr. Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Asad Qaiser said that the new government in Pakistan is committed to robust and friendly relations with Afghanistan. Our two countries are inter-linked and look towards each other with considerable expectations in many areas.

The centuries old bonds and affinities of our people are the real strength of our bilateral relations and need to be leveraged effectively, the Speaker said. Further, he stressed upon increasing interactions among the Parliamentarians of both countries could contribute in building trust and improving mutual understanding. During the meeting, he said that unfortunately, security situation in Afghanistan remains a challenge. Peace and stability in Afghanistan is in the best interest of Pakistan. We believe that Pakistan is key stakeholder and major beneficiary of peace in Afghanistan, he added.

Mr. Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga stated that terrorism was a common threat and there was a need for concerted effort to fight this menace. He expected that the conference would bear fruitful results since the Parliament, being the representative voice of people, was responsible to play a pivotal role for finding solution to all the prevailing challenges. He also said that the bilateral trade between the two countries had declined over the last few years and, therefore, there was need to enhance economic and political relations.

While meeting with the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Republic of China Mr. Chen Zhu, the Speaker National Assembly said that Pakistan and China are close friends and strategic cooperative partners. We take pride in our friendship with China which is our “iron bother”. This friendship enjoys political, institutional and popular support in Pakistan, he said. He said that strategic cooperative partnership between two countries is moving from strength to strength. It is an anchor for regional peace and stability.

We would like to learn from Chinese experience of development, poverty eradication and fight against corruption, the Speaker said. He expressed his pleasure on strong Government to Government contacts between Pakistan and China. However, he stressed upon need to enhance and strengthen institutional linkages between the Parliaments of two brotherly countries. He also said that Pakistan had been making significant progress in CPEC project which would play a huge role in development and prosperity of both Nations. He further informed that all political parties, provincial governments and locals had been taken on board with regard to CPEC projects.

The Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress stated that Pakistan had been doing well on economic fronts and appreciated government’s efforts for combating terrorism quite successfully. He also appreciated Pakistan’s role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Mr. Chen Zhu stated that there was a need for enhanced socio-economic, political and security cooperation. He shared that more organizations would be interested to invest in Pakistan with advancements in CPEC.

While meeting with his Russian counterpart Mr. Vyacheslav V.Volodin, Asad Qaiser said that Pakistan desires to forge a long-term and multidimensional partnership with Russia, especially in the fields of trade, energy, defence, security, space, peaceful use of nuclear energy, culture, education and people-to-people contacts. It is heartening to see that regular interaction between the parliaments of our two countries is progressing satisfactorily. He expressed his gratitude for the consistent Russian support to Pakistan for full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) throughout the process. Such support is evident of the close friendship and cooperation between two countries on bilateral and multilateral forums.

The Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Mr. Vyacheslav V.Volodin stressed upon the need to foster people to people contacts and inter-parliamentary linkages through exchange of visits between legislatures of Pakistan and Russia. He also opined to augment trade and economic relations between two countries as there is huge potential for it.

December 8, 2018

Peace, Dialogue and Interdependence Are Key Precursors of a Prospering Society: NA Speaker

Islamabad, December 08, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan Asad Qaiser has said that Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Russia and Turkey spanning the stretch of the Asian Continent comprise its heart and soul. Rich energy, human and natural resources; bridging important regions by our locations or sheer size; and our individual strong cultural and linguistic heritage are tremendous assets that we can put together for our collective benefit, he added. As such our countries remain central to the global developments on political, socio-economic, security and many other fronts, Asad Qaiser said.

According to a message received from Tehran, the Speaker National Assembly was speaking at inaugural ceremony of the Second Speakers’ conference in his capacity as President of the Speakers’ conference in Tehran, Iran. He said that Pakistan had the honor of hosting the Heads of our respective Assemblies in Islamabad in December 2017 to launch this important forum.

Pakistan has floated the idea of having the forum of the Speakers’ conference, he added. “A year later, the Second Speakers’ Conference in Tehran provides us another opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views on key challenges like terrorism that we all have to confront and to evolve a coordinated approach in exploiting the immense untapped potential and economic opportunities in our region” the Speaker said.

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Hassan Rouhani attended the inaugural ceremony of the second Speakers’ conference as Chief Guest. The Chairman State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Mr. Vyacheslav Voldon, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly Turkey Mr. Binali Yildrim, Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga of Afghanistan Mr. Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, Mr. Chen Zhu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China also attended the event.

The Speaker also said that the in Pakistan, through some of the largest counter terrorism operations conducted anywhere in the world, we have turned the tide against terrorism. “The military operations, Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasad have been great success. Through unmatched efforts of our Law Enforcement Agencies, we have been able to clear our territory from terrorists” he said. Asad Qaiser said that the terrorist attacks and incidents of mass violence have registered a marked decline. The success of our efforts, compared to other counter terrorism efforts, despite our limited resources, is being widely recognized, he remarked.

He further said that the location of our region has great strategic significance. However, despite enormous potential, connectivity in our region has remained low. “Unfortunately, deteriorating security situation and regional disputes have obstructed regional integration and economic prosperity. Pakistan has been strong proponent of regional connectivity and has constructively participated in all regional connectivity initiatives”, the Speaker added. He said that we are signatories to both Asian Highway and Asian Railway Network Agreements. Let us use this platform of Parliaments of the member countries to commit ourselves to working together towards a brighter and a more secure future for our region and beyond, he said.

While concluding his speech, Speaker National Assembly transferred the Presidency of the Speakers’ conference to Dr. Ali Ardeshir Larijani, Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of Iran as per agreed charter of the Speakers’ conference. He also prayed that Dr. Larijani will play proactive role in further strengthening the forum. He also ensured the all-out support of the National Assembly of Pakistan in capacity as the permanent secretariat of the conference.

December 8, 2018

Pakistan underline need for expansion of friendly and brotherly ties with Iran: Asad Qaiser

Islamabad, December 08, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has said that Pakistan attaches immense importance to its fraternal relations with Iran and wants to further cement the existing relations through enhanced parliamentary cooperation between the legislatures of both the countries. He remarked that both the nations were intertwined in bonds of religion, history, culture and their goals, friends and enemies are also the same. He expressed these views while talking to Speaker of Islamic Consultative Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Ali Larijani who met him during the side-line meeting of the 2nd Speakers’ Conference held at Tehran.

According to a message received from Tehran, the Speaker said that vigorous Pak-Iran relations were imperative for peace, security and prosperity in the region. Stressing the need for enhance Parliamentary relations between both the countries, the Speaker said that regular interaction between the Parliamentarians of both countries could play an important role for promoting unity and stability in the region. He underlined the need for further enhancing cooperation between both the countries in diverse fields for mutual benefits. Urging the need for unity among the Muslim World the Speaker said that the unity among the Muslim Countries was necessary to confront the challenges being faced by Ummah.

Asad Qaiser also expressed the hope that the 2nd Speaker Conference will play an instrumental role to promote connectivity amongst the members states and address the challenge of terrorism which is a constant threat to peace and security of the region. The Speaker of Islamic Consultative Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Ali Larijani has said that his country also considered Pakistan as one of its brothers and wants to further strengthen the existing bilateral relations through enhancing cooperation in diverse fields. He said that ties between Pakistan and Iran were unbreakable and both the nations have always stood with each other in difficult conditions.

He added that Iran consider Pakistan as its partner for peace in the region and expressed his hope that in future both nations will continue to chart the paths of prosperity together. He reiterated Asad Qaiser’s proposal for diversification of trade and economic relations and urged for comprehensive engagement of the Parliamentary committees to explore the avenues for mutual cooperation.