ISLAMABAD: Civil rights organization Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) launched a portal to inform the people about the activities of the legislatures and the lawmakers they elect.

As the organisers said, it will enable the citizens access “the debates, deliberations and decisions in the National Assembly, the Senate and the provincial assemblies, and the work being done by the elected representatives”.

Some parliamentarians in the audience did not seem amused, though.

Perhaps the most senior, seasoned politician among them, Senator Haji Adeel of ANP, felt it was too much to expect the legislators and legislatures “to resolve” national issues.

“February is ending but we see no outlines of the national budget. The government never takes the parliament into confidence on the issues,” he said.

Then the parliamentarians don’t have the wherewithal to play the role expected from them, he said, referring to American legislators who are provided office and staff to do the research required to produce good laws.

“How one can expect Pakistani parliamentarians to become productive and resolve issues when we are not provided even a locker to keep our papers?” asked Haji Adeel.

About the parliamentary information portal of the Fafen, the veteran politician said a vast majority of people don’t use Internet and don’t know English. “At least provide that information in regional language too,” he suggested.

MNA Sajid Nawaz of PTI, agreed that most parliamentarians do not have information about legislation, and the portal would train them.

PPP Senator Khalida Mohsin, thought that by making legislators “conscious” that they are under watch, the web portal would help them improve their performance.

Her party colleague Senator Saeeda Iqbal observed that this parliament was more focused on debate than on legislation. “This fact should be highlighted through web portal and media.

National Youth Assembly President Hannan Ali Abbasi said since not many people use the Internet, information about the parliament’s activities should be distributed also through other mediums, such as magazines.

Journalist Shahryar Khan thought the portal will be useful to his community as journalists don’t have free access to parliamentary proceedings.

Former Senate secretary Iftikhar Ullah Babar, however, disagreed with him saying the parliament has never been closed to the public and the media, unless it met in-camera.

Mr Babar said the media was not trained in parliamentary reporting. Reporters do not analyse budgetary proposals.

“They just report what the speakers said,” said the former bureaucrat suggesting that “There should be a parliamentary television channel to broadcast the parliamentary sessions and standing committee meetings live.”

Mudassar Rizvi, representing Fafen, agreed with Sen Haji Adeel that parliamentarians need resources.

“Here laws are amended on the instructions from abroad, and decisions are made in the All Parties Conferences. Issues of public interest are assigned to standing committees who debate it for a long time,” he said.

Published in Dawn February 25th , 2015

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