Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani said on Friday that state institutions need to stay in their prescribed ambit, respect constitutional limits and allow democracy to flourish.

Rabbani made these remarks during a discussion while Senate was in session.

He observed that all state institutions work under the Constitution, which provides for a trichotomy of power. He said this provision should be respected by every institution.

He further warned that "if any institution tries to exceed its ambit, it will be damaging for the democratic process in the country".

The Senate chairman also observed that one of the functions of the parliament under the Constitution is to oversee the executive and to provide policy guidelines. "The government [therefore] needs to empower parliament so that it can play an effective role in this regard," he urged.

Other senators also took part in the discussion initiated by Senator Farhatullah Babar, who wanted to caution state institutions about overstepping their mandates.