November 12, 2003	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Five parliamentarians who have returned from a study tour of Germany expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which democratic institutions are run in Pakistan.

Senator Sanaullah Baloch, leader of the Young Parliamentarians Forum and a member of the delegation, said true federal system did not exist in Pakistan, notwithstanding its official characterization, nor parliament was allowed to function properly.

The week-long visit of the delegation was arranged by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung of the German Social Democratic Party to educate young parliamentarians about that country’s parliamentary system.

Other members of the delegation were Dr Attaur Rehman, MNA of the MMA; MNA Firdous Ashiq Awan PML(Q), MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi of MQM and MNA Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani of the PPP.

Mr Baloch said federalism was especially suited to Pakistan due to its ethnic/political multiplicity but it had not been allowed to function in the country.

In Germany, he said, the federal list was very short as compared to that in Pakistan. He said he had moved an amendment envisaging conversion of the concurrent list into a provincial one.

He said unlike Germany, there were myriad differences between the centre and the provinces. This was because those in power tried to impute self-serving interpretations to the constitutional provisions. Germany, he added, had a federal constitutional court comprising 50 per cent members each from the national assembly and the senate.

Balochistan has demanded the institution of similar court in the country for adjudication of such contentious issues as Kalabagh Dam, etc, he added. The proposal has been adopted by the opposition at national level and would be moved in the parliament.

Referring to the role of political parties in Germany, he said there were only four parties each of which had a foundation. The latter served as the channel for maintaining continuous interaction with the people.

Firdous Ashiq Awan said media in Germany was free while its parliament had great prestige. Like the German parliament, she said, they would call upon the parliament to set up a TV channel so that people might be able to view the conduct of their representatives and nothing was done in secrecy. She said the delegation would move suggestions based on their observations about Germany through the task force set up by PILDAT.

Haider Abbas Rizvi said one of the things which impressed him greatly in Germany was its system of devolution where unlike Pakistan two vital links in the chain of democracy, National Assembly and the provincial assemblies, were kept out of devolution.

He said there was a clear delineation of roles of democratic institutions from top to grassroots levels, so much so that the provinces had their own separate constitutions and flags.