ISLAMABAD, May 19: The efficiency of parliamentary committees could be improved if their members followed the prescribed rules and procedures.

This was the consensus reached at a briefing session for the parliamentarians on "Effective Committee System". The session was organized by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) here on Wednesday.

According to a press release, the briefing session was attended by MNAs, Senators, chairpersons of parliamentary committees and personnel from the National Assembly and Senate Secretariat.

The emphasis on efficiency of parliamentary committees came when the participants realized the hindrances faced by the present committees. The participants identified problems such as election of the chairpersons, delays in formation of parliamentary committees and disproportionate representation in present Senate committee.

Former National Assembly speaker Syed Fakhr Imam stressed maximum use of existing powers of the committee system to analyse problems concerning different ministries. Another former National Assembly speaker, Gohar Ayub, asked the participants to learn from international democratic practices to enhance their performance.

He also called for election of the right man for the job when electing committee chairpersons. Senator Khurshid Ahmad, MNA Syed Naveed Qamar and Senator Mushahid Hussain were also among the guest speakers.