2013

PROGRESS

U P D A T E

JAN-APRIL

SDPD
Editor: Marvi Sirmed

SPEAKER NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WITH MEMBERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE AND UNDP CD, ACD & NPM

DR. FEHMIDA MIRZA, SPEAKER NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Parliament Makes History

Parliament of Pakistan achieved a legislative work during this period. and engaged themselves into Public milestone in Parliamentary history this Particularly from January - March this Hearings - a comparatively new quarter. For the first time after 1977, year, it engaged itself in hectic sessions phenomenon in this part of the world. P a k i s t a n s N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y and Committees meetings before the The credit goes to very able Speaker completed its term and gave way to a end of its term. smooth transition to new democratic set-up after upcoming General Elections in May 2013. SDPD, for having been engaged with both the Houses of Parliament since almost a decade now, proudly claims to who ran the House with exemplary statespersonship. The youngest Deputy Speaker ever, complemented her talent and leadership. Parliamentary parties in treasury and opposition played their part with responsibility and maturity. It would be unfair not to acknowledge the hard work of the Secretariat here. Congratulations all!

The tenure had not been an easy ride have assisted the Committees and for the National Assembly that contributed to their strengthening during c o n t i n u e d c o n f r o n t i n g m y r i a d this fragile period of Pakistans challenges. It deserves accolades for democratic history. The Committees many historic firsts as well as massive became more active during this period

HERE SHE COMES! SPEAKER & COMMITTEE CHAIR

NATIONAL ANTHEM

SHARING A WHISPER (SPEAKER & UNDP CD)

Human Rights Reporters Association-HuRRA

BELOW: MEMBERS OF HURRA, PARTICIPATING JOURNALISTS

ASKING QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS

ABOVE: (RIGHT TO LEFT) MS. JAMILA

GALLANI, MS. TANVEER NISAR, MR. RIAZ FATIANA, MS. MARVI SIRMED

Responsive reporting of Human Rights enhancement about critical issues of media houses including print and Violation is a demanding task and it is to human rights violations, SDPD facilitated electronic media. be dealt with extended sensitivity. With the formation of the Human Rights the view to improve it through Reporters Association (HuRRA). The The Chairperson of the Committee Mr. reporters' better coordination with the Association was launched in an event R i a z F a t y a n a a l o n g w i t h o t h e r C o m m i t t e e s , e n s u r i n g t wo - w ay held on 19th February 2013 involving prominent members, Ms. Jameela Gilani information ow and knowledge around twenty journalists from different and Ms. Tanveer Nisar attended the event.

ABOVE: MS JMILA GALLANI PRESENTS CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION TO A WOMAN MEMBER OF HURRA, WHILE MS. TANVEER NISAR AND MR. RIAZ FATIANA LOOK ON

ABOVE: JOURNALISTS INTERACT WITH COMMITTEE

MEMBERS INFORMALLY

Human Rights Committees Two Years Report Unveiled

S D P D - U N D P a s s i s t e d t h e and media representatives, to National Assembly Standing the committee over its tenure. Committee on Human Rights to He presented certi>icate of produce its >irst ever progress acknowledgments to selected report. Honorable Speaker Dr. Fahmida Mirza launched HUMAN RIGHTS the report on 28th February COMMITTEE HAS BEEN ONE 2013. OF THE MOST DYNAMIC ONES IN NATIONAL The launching ceremony was ASSEMBLY - SPEAKER followed by a farewell lunch for the members of the members from media and civil committee. Souvenirs and society. The honorable Speaker certi>icates of appreciation acknowledged the support of were also presented to the SDPD in ef>icient functioning of members of the committee. t h e C o m m i t t e e a n d i t s T h e C o m m i t t e e C h a i r increased effectiveness in acknowledged the support p e r f o r m i n g m a n d a t o r y provided by the civil society functions.

THE EVENT

MAKING IT SURE
MR. RI AZ FAT I ANA OV E R S E E I N G A R R A N G E M E N T S

BEFORE THE BITE

CO MMIT T EE ME MBE RS & UND P S ACD

STEALING A S IP
SE CRE TA R IAT O FFI CIAL S

A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY CANNOT EVOLVE AND FUNCTION WITHOUT THE RESPECT AND ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS - DR. FEHMIDA MIRZA

MAN BEHIND THE SHOW SYED SHAMOON HASHM I, SDPDS NPD

Foreign Affairs Committee Gets Public

PUBLIC HEARING BY SENATE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: WITNESSES SITTING WITH COMMITTEE MEMBERS MOMENTS BEFORE TESTIFYING
R TO L: SEN. HAJI ADEEL, SEN. FARHATULLAH BABAR, SEN. AITZAZ AHSAN, IFTIKHAR AHMAD, AKRAM ZAKI

The Standing Committees on Foreign Regional Security Situation, Trade j o u r n a l i s t t e s t i e d b e f o r e t h e Affairs from both the Houses were Economy & Visa Liberalization and Committees. The High Commissioners facilitated to jointly assemble in their Resolution of Disputes for the of SAARC countries, former diplomats, rst ever Public Hearing titled; Future Betterment of People of SAARC. of SAARC in the context of Pakistanrepresentatives of civil society, media, think tanks and intelligentsia attended

India Relations. The Hearing aimed at Jaleel Abbas Jillani, Foreign Secretary; Mr. the Hearing. involving honorable members of both Iqbal Tabish, Director General-SAARC the committees in an informed debate Chamber of Commerce and Industry; During the Hearing, critical evidence on various issues important for the General (R) Talat Masood, defense was collected from the technocrats region including War on Terror & analyst and Iftikhar Ahmed, senior wherein they proposed policy guidelines for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(LEFT TO RIGHT) MR. JALIL ABBAS JILANI, MR. IQBAL TABISH, SENATOR HAJI ADEEL, GEN (R) TALAT MASOOD, MR. IFTIKHAR AHMAD

Poverty Reduction Cell in Planning Commission Needed - MDGs Committee

SDPD assisted MDGs Committee in overseeing the implementation of countrys plan of action to achieve Millennium Development Goals. SDPDs contribution mainly consisted of assistance in making observations of the status against the achievement of targets under MDGs. National Assemblys Special Committee on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) presented its report to the Speaker of the House in March before its dissolution. The Committee recommended the establishment of a dedicated cell on Poverty Reduction and MDGs in Planning and Development Division to track progress continuously and to produce an annual MDGs status report that should be submitted to the Parliament. t h e t a r g e t s ; C o m m i t t e e s recommendations to meet targets and achieve deadlines; General recommendations by the Committee to improve the MDG achievements and contours of debate on post-2015 plan of action. The Committee suggested that the Social Sector Coordination Committee of the Cabinet may be given the responsibility to track progress on attainment of MDGs and make recommendations to the Cabinet for accelerating progress. The Committee observed that there was lack of authenticity of data due to more than institution compiling similar data basing it on different kinds of indicators. It recommended that there should single umbrella organizations to provide credible and reliable data. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics could act as one. To ensure fresh and credible data, National Population & Household Census should be conducted regularly and registration of births/deaths should be ensured, Committee recommended. To ensure mainstreaming of less developed remote areas, the Committee recommended that the Federal government should ensure that FATA, GB, ICT and AJK set their targets against each goal and produce their reports to feed into the National Report. Most importantly, the Committee recommended that the new National Assembly when comes into being after the General Elections in May 2013 must constitute a similar Special Committee on MDGs to oversee the achievement of Goals. For post 2015 action plan, the Committee acknowledged that as 2015 approaches, the UN system is leading the process of developing a new framework for international development goals. The Countr y Consultation process in Pakistan, the Committee noted, would run through March 2013. The debate is around the following key questions: 1. How useful have the MDGs been for Pakistan? 2. What is needed in the future goals? What issues need to be highlighted for the Post-2015 global agenda? 3. How can the new goals be better measured

The Committee was constituted as Special Committee by the Honorable S p e a ke r o n O c t o b e r 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 , consequent to the adoption of a motion on 23 June 2011. The historical rst in its own right, the Committee was assisted by SDPD in compiling this report and by Poverty Reduction Unit of UNDP Pakistan for undertaking the Another important recommendation process of consultations in making the was about the social sector spending of observations. the provinces, which the Committee was of the view, should be reviewed The report describes the outcomes of periodically by the Council of Common the consultative process that the Interests that could be requested for it Committee undertook for compiling t h r o u g h t h e I n t e r P r o v i n c i a l the report; its ndings against every Coordination Ministry. Goal under the MDGs; status against

Tax Amendment Bill Critically Evaluated

National Assemblys Standing Committee on Finance & Revenue was assisted to critically evaluate Tax Amendment Bill 2012. Committee had a meaningful debate on the Bill and was able to technically analyze it clause-by-clause. The Bill introduced the amnesty scheme for the identied non-tax payers to bring them in streamline. If passed, it would have added r e v e n u e t o n a t i o n a l e x c h e q u e r.

PAPER ON CHILD R I G H T S AC T
The Project developed a Brieng Paper on the National Commission on Child Rights Act, which was then being reviewed by the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly. The Brieng Paper was developed with a view to enhance the understanding of the committee members on the provisions of the Bill to facilitate informed debate thereon. The Bill was subsequently passed by the parliament.

Finance Committees Data Preserved

SDPD has been humbly served the National Assembly of Pakistan in another historical development and has digitally tabulated all the data of Finance Committee meetings, its recommendations and actions taken since 2008 to date. Similar tabulation has been completed for Bills presented through or reviewed by the Committee. This will go a long way in empowering the upcoming Committee when the new National Assembly comes in after the General Elections in May 2013.

PUBLIC AWA R E N E S S
Senate Functional Committee Committee on Government Assurances is a comparatively lesser known but highly important Committee especially from the perspective of parliaments ove r s i g h t o n gove r n m e n t . T h i s Committee keeps track of Ministers commitments on the Floor of the House. A public awareness campaign was charted out by SDPD Research Associates for better outreach of the Committee

UPCOMING FINANCE COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY EMPOWERED EVEN BEFORE IT IS CONSTITUTED

Human Rights Committees Second Report Ready

SDPD has developed the draft of the Second Progress Report of the NA Committee on Human Rights, which has been submitted to the Speaker for approval. This second concesutive report of the Committe in line with its constitutional obligation of presenting its performance to the people through the House. This parliamentary mechanism, through which parliament makes itself accountable to the people, is new.

F E AS I BI L I T Y O N THE ISSUES OF I-16

I-16 is a new residential Sector of Islamabad, on the development of which, there have been many issues raised from different sections of media and civil society. The issue has been on the agenda of Government Assurances Committee since last two years. SDPD developed a Feasibility Report for the Committee to conduct a detaile study on the problem and respond to the civil societys concerns raised through petitions, Calling Attentions etc.

Understanding US Drone War

A fact-sheet about US Drones on Pakistans soil since 2004 was prepared for Senates Foreign Affairs Committee to enable members have informed discussion upon the agenda items.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Committee started interacting with citizens through social media. Much of the feedback was gathered by the Chairman himself and by the Committee secretariat through a very d y n a m i c Tw i t t e r a c c o u n t (@NAHRComPak). Because of the dissolution of the Assembly, the account has been temporarily suspended till the new Committee is set up after the General Elections in May 2013

Linkages with other Parliaments

The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs engaged itself extensively with building linkages with Committees from similar parliamentary systems. SDPD assisted the Committed in documenting the process and compiling a comprehensive Proposal on Pakistans Foreign Relations. The Proposal is expected to be published by the Senate after due process of adoption.

FO R E I G N AF FAI R S O N TWITTER
To enhance the public outreach of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, SDPD encouraged the use of social media by the Committee Chair. The Chair is now personally interacting with citizens, technocrats and media through an ofcial Twitter account. Please follow him at @FACommSenate to know more about Pakistans Senate Foreign Affairs Committee

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE DEVELOPED LINKAGES WITH COMMITTEES OF OTHER PARLIAMENTS

Inter-Provincial Coordination
After the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment, Inter Provincial Coordination has got a central focus in sorting out many issues related to the devolution of powers from the federal to provincial governments. That has increased the oversight role of the Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) Committees of both Houses as well. SDPD has been assisting the Senate Committee on IPC in its functions of oversight and legislation wherever applicable. Over the last quarter, the Committee was briefed on important issues like Expanded Program on Immunization, Student Exchange Programs and National Academy on Performing Arts through Papers.

D E M O C R AC Y WAT C H N ETWO RK
SDPDs work with the civil society organizations at community level all over Pakistan, over last eight years has transformed into a network of individuals, groups, bodies and organizations. This quarter, Democracy Watch Network launched its web portal with members actively sharing information. With special focus on upcoming Elections, the Portal is acting as an excellent way of watching the elections campaign and any violations of rules therein. The Portal is accessible at www.democracywatch.pk

SDPD: Connecting Committees

Coordination between the Committees of both Houses is enhanced because of building bridge between them through the SDPDs Research Aassociate. The timely shared information through the same RA connected the Committees of both the Houses in a unique way. A manifestation of this was seen in the close working relationship that Senates Special Committee on Election Reforms and the NA Committee on Law and Justice have developed. Similar relationship has been seen between Committees on Foreign Affairs of both Houses and Committees on Law & Justice. Good luck to both the Secretariats for carrying on with the spirit!

CURATIVE J UR I S DIC TI ON : L E G I S L AT I V E B R I E F
A Legislative Brief on The Curative Jurisdiction [by Supreme Court] Bill 2012 was produced for Senate Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The Brief dilates upon the provisions and assess merits and demerits of the Bill. To produce the Brief, SDPD built partnership with Insaf Network Pakistan, a countrywide network of experts, civil society organizations and individuals.

Strengthening Electoral Lawmaking

SDPD Research Team has produced a report on electoral laws for the NA Standing Committee on Law & Justice. The report covered the joint sessions of the Standing Committees on Law & Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the consequent recommendations by the members. It was laid before the House in the last week of its tenure.

I NN O CEN CE CLAI M: L E G I S L AT I V E B R I E F
A Legislative Brief on Review of the Innocence Claim Bill 2012 was produced for the Senate Committee on Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs in partnership with Insaf Network Pakistan. The Bill iprovides for the establishment of and Innocence Inquiry Commission for the persons convicted or sentenced with either death or life imprisonment.

CITIZENS FROM ALL PARTS OF PAKISTAN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE CONSULTATIVE PROCESS FOR FORMULATING RECOMMENDATIONS ON POSSIBLE ELECTORAL REFORMS FOR UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN 2013
Another report was also shared, earlier, with the Committee that compiled citizens recommendations on possible electoral reforms. The recommendations were an outcome of comprehensive consultative process that SDPD carried out in around 65 districts of all the four provinces, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

PAR L IAME NTARY S U P P O RT G RO U P

A PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT GROUP HAS BEEN FORMED WITH PIPS AS ITS CHAIR AND UNDP AS ITS CONVENER. THE GROUP WILL PERIODICALLY EXCHANGE INFORMATION AND IDEAS OF MUTUAL INTEREST IMPORTANT FOR TJE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY STAFF AND OF HONORABLE MEMBERS.

UPCOMING
Induction Program 2013: SDPD is in the process of preparing for comprehensive Induction Program for the new parliamentarians after the General Elections of 2013. The Induction Program 2013 will be carried out in partnership with National Assembly Secretariat, Parliaments own Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) and a fellow project of parliamentary strengthening being supported by European Union. Under the Program, SDPD would publish number of knowledge products besides holding orientation seminar for the rst-time Members immediately after the oath-taking. Committees Going Online: SDPD i s p ro v i d i n g a s s i s t a n c e t o t h e Committees of both the Houses to develop their websites for better accessibility. Websites of Senate Committee on Law and Justice, National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, Senate Standing Committee on F o r e i g n A f f a i r s a n d S e n a t e s Government Assurances Committee are underway. However, due to procedural hiccups, the matter regarding National Assemblys Public Accounts Committee website has been kept in pending. We hope it is going to be resolved soon. The websites are expected to go online in second quarter of 2013. Communications Strategy for the Parliament: During the Quarter of January-March 2013, SDPD initiated consultative process to develop the communications strategy for both Houses of the Parliament. In order to create an enabling environment for parliament and the public to interact more effectively, the project initiated the process to formulate the Strategy in February. During which, consultations were made with senior journalists covering the parliament, civil society representatives and parliamentary experts. Second phase of tconsultations in underway that consists of in-depth interviews with Secretariats ofcials, while the parliamentarians views would be taken in the third phase. SDPD plans to present the Debrieng of the Strategy to the Secretariat in June and submit the Draft Strategy to the parliament in July. Performance of Human Rights Committee: Compilation of a performance report of the Committee throughout its tenure (2008 2013) has been initiated, which is expected to be published in April 2013, subject to the approval from NA Secretariat.

N AT I ON AL AS S EMBLY S PERFORMANCE
SDPD has prepared a comprehensive assessment report of the performance of National Assembly of Pakistan during its last tenure (March 2008 - March 2013). This being rst time in parliamentary history of Pakistan, if becomes a practice, could make an effective tool of accountability of the parliament to the people. The report is going to be published in April after the approval of National Assembly authorities.

T R I B U T E TO OUTGOING N AT I ON AL A S S EMB LY
Paying tribute to the outgoing National Assembly of Pakistan and greeting the partners on the onset of new parliamentary year (March 2013 March 2014), SDPD has produced a planner for the use of all partners in common cause of strengthening democracy in Pakistan.Viva la democracia!

PAK-INDIA TRADE
This Brieng Paper was prepared for Senate Foreign Affairs Committee members before the Public Hearing on Future of SAARC. The paper was later included in the report of public hearing as Annexure. Another Paper prepared by SDPD that is going to appear in the Report is on Resolution of Disputes among SAARC Countries for the Betterment of People. The Report is expected to come out in the last week of April.

PUBLIC ATIONS THIS QUARTER

Pak-US Stalemate and Sir Creek are Brieng Papers on strategic issues for Foreign Affairs Committees. How to be Effective Chair and Mechanisms of Parliamentary Oversight are handouts for the members

Assisting the Parliament is a brief document for the researchers and other committees staff of the parliament to act as basic guideline to provide efcient support to the parliamentarians Pakistan-China Relations, Dening Pakistan-EU Partnership & Frozen in Siachen are Brieng Papers for Foreign Affairs Committees on different strategic issues Analysis of Blasphemy Laws is a comprehensive assessment of countrys existing laws dealing with controversial blasphemy laws. It presents a a range of opinions on the issue before the members of the Human Rights Committees.

Parliamentary Oversight Questions is a training manual produced in partnership with PIPS Dialogue and Inclusiveness is Conference Report of the 3-Day Youth Conference SDPD organized earlier, gathering youth from all provinces, providing them opportunity to interact with parliamentarians A Project Review Report has been published that details the observations and recommendations of Project Review Mission elded in 2012 Towards 2014: Challenges of NATO Withdrawal from Afghanistan is a collection of Papers from strategic experts on the subject and was prepared for Senate Committee on Defence & Defence Production

SDPD RESEARCH TEAM

Mr. Abdul Karim Gabol, Advocacy & Communications Ofcer

Syed Mujtaba Zaidi, Monitoring & Evaluation Ofcer

Mr. Bilal Khan Khattak

Ms. Ayela Ashfaq

Ms. Tahira Ambreen

Ms. Zobia Haider

Mr. Aakif Naeem

Ms. Javeria Farheen

Ms. Salma Chaudhry

Team Leader:

Marvi Sirmed, National Project Manager, SDPD

Could not have done it without your Support!

Syed Shamoon Hashmi, National Project Director SDPD / Joint Secretary National Assembly

Shamoon Hashmi has been an asset to the Project ever since he was appointed NPD by the National Assembly. Not only that he has guided the team in difcult situations, he has brought innovative thinking to the project.

Mr. Sharifullah Wazir, Focal Person SDPD / Joint Secretary Senate of Pakistan Mr. Wazir has been great support to the Project since he was appointed Focal Person by the Senate Secretariat. His special interest in keeping everything inline with procedures and meticulous eye on capacity building, administrative and procedural matters is great help for the project

Mr. Azhar Saeed Malik, Assistant Country Director, UNDP Pakistan Mr. Azhar Saeed Malik has brought a new vision to not only the Governance portfolio of UNDP Pakistan, but also to SDPDs project approach. The Project team has benetted greatly from his rich experience and knowledge. As much as we are saddened on his leaving the country, we are happy that he is pursuing a thriving career. We wish him best for his future endeavours.

WELCOME FRANKLIN!
We welcome Franklin De Vrieze to Pakistan and to SDPD, who would be joining us soon as Chief Technical Advisor. He has recently worked with UNDP Pakistan and was part of a Project Review Mission for SDPD. Franklin has worked on governance issues for 20 years. His main areas of expertise are parliamentary development and good governance programming, implementation & evaluation. Currently, he works as international consultant in parliamentary development, including for programs of the UNDP, European Commission and USAID. He has conducted identication, formulation and evaluation missions for parliamentary and governance programs in Eastern Europe, South Asia, Middle East and Africa. As Programme Manager of UNDPs Global Programme for Parliamentary Strengthening (GPPS), he has been working on policy issues relevant to the legislative, oversight and representative functions of parliament. Particular emphasis was given to innovative approaches to parliamentary development. We hope he brings innovation and fresh global perspective to parliamentary strengthening in Pakistan. Welcome on board Franklin, we await you earnestly!

FRANKLIN DE VRIEZE

Whats in the dock for SDPD summer

MATERIAL FOR INDUCTION SEMINAR
1. HANDBOOK FOR FIRSTTIME MEMBERS (FTMS) 2. PROCEDURAL MANUAL FOR FTMS 3. BRIEF REFERRAL GUIDELINES FOR HONORABLE MEMBERS 4. GUIDEBOOK FOR WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS BESIDES, ALL THE MEMBERS WILL BE PRESENTED WITH BAGS CONTAINING NECESSARY MATERIAL AND PARLIAMENTS BROOCHES

This is going to be a busy summer for SDPD as it would for the National Assembly! After the upcoming General Elections, nations eyes are set on the new National Assembly. SDPD, in very close consultations with National Assembly Secretariat and Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS), along side its partner in parliamentary strengthening, European Unions IP3 Project, is preparing for New Parliamentarians orientation to facilitate and assist them perform their functions effectively. The Joint Induction Seminar would be held within rst week of the oath-taking of the new members of National Assembly. While SDPD would be an active partner in the Induction Seminar,

it views Induction 2013 as a comprehensive and continued process. Therefore, we have worked out SDPDs signature Induction campaign in phases with different sets of Sessions and knowledge material. Main sets include: A: General Orientation on Parliamentspecic themes B: Specialized Policy Orientation Sessions C: Building the capability for specic functions of legislation & oversight

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