Strengthening legislative ties: Pak MPs’ delegation visiting US for dialogue with counterparts
*The forum specifically aims to strengthen legislative ties and form new relationships

ISLAMABAD: A joint 14-member delegation of the National Assembly and the Senate of Pakistan will depart for Washington DC to take part in the United States-Pakistan Legislators Dialogue Forum being held there from April 11-17.

The 14-member delegation of Pak MPs will join their US counterparts under the Co-chairmanship of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan and PML-N MNA as well as National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari.

The Pakistani delegation includes (listed in alphabetical order by first name) PPPP Senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Farhatullah Babar; Balochistan National Party (NP) President Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo; JUI-F MNA form Balochistan Asiya Nasir; Independent MNA from FATA Syaid Ghazi Gulab Jamal; PML-N MNA from Punjab and Parliamentary Secretary for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, and Statistics & Privatisation Muhammad Afzal Khan; and PTI MNA from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak.

The delegation also includes PPPP MNA from Sindh Syed Naveed Qamar, Chairman, National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways; PML-N MNA from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatisation Chairman Omar Ayub Khan; MQM MNA from Sindh Sanjay Perwani; PTI MNA from Punjab Shafqat Mahmood; PML-N MNA from Punjab Shaza Fatima Khawaja; and PPPP MNA from Sindh Shazia Marri.

The purpose of US-Pakistan Legislators Dialogue Forum is to initiate a legislators-to-legislators structured 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 to 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 forum will help broaden the relationship beyond the traditional areas of cooperation such as security and economic cooperation to explore areas like trade, investment, education and democratic governance, and enable the participating legislators to identify and support business, civil society and public-private partnerships that benefit their constituencies and their countries.

During the 6-day dialogue forum, the Pakistani delegation will interact with Members of the US House of Representatives and the Senate. Meetings on the sidelines include such as interactions 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). Before departure, Pakistani MPs attended a series of briefings in Islamabad by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan and the US Embassy, Islamabad.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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