ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The two-day International Parliamentary Convention in connection with the Golden Jubilee of the Constitution of Pakistan was in progress at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Wednesday.
In his address at the Inaugural Session of the International Constitutional Convention, the Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed deep gratitude to the esteemed delegates for their participation and termed it as manifestation of personal allegiance to constitutionalism, democracy and rule of law through the chosen representatives of the people.
Speaker NA Raja Pervez Ashraf’s address to the Inaugural Session of
organized by @NAofPakistan
to commemorate 50 years of #Constitution1973.
n/1 pic.twitter.com/lnSFrZgMP0— National Assembly (@NAofPakistan) May 10, 2023
The Speaker also acknowledged the valuable contributions of political parties and their leaders for their combined and consistent efforts in safeguarding the guiding principles of Constitution 1973 and also lauded role of opposition parties in doing so by ensuring parliamentary accountability and strong check on the government.
Quaid’s Pakistan was a democratic Islamic state but personal interests eroded its vision, turning democracy into a privilege and people’s will into a dictator’s whim, remarked the Speaker in his address.
While honoring the 1973 National Assembly and Constitution Drafting Committee, the Speaker announced that the missing 50-year-old record of the 26-Member Committee proceedings has been rediscovered and would be printed as a book for public research and knowledge.
The Speaker stressed complete implementation of Constitution and reducing gap between promise and performance.
Raja Pervez Ashraf underscored that Parliament’s is the nucleus of power, author of Constitution, and sole legislative organ and people’s will stems from here and all institutions must answer to this sovereign body.
The Speaker National Assembly concluded his opening speech by emphasizing that the Constitutional democracy requires strengthening of building blocks: vibrant civil society, free media, women’ inclusion, transparent election system, and impartial judiciary. These are the blocks that Quaid and framers aspired for, and this should be our legacy, he noted.
