The Speaker, National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza was optimistic that Germany will support Pakistan in the 'Friends of Pakistan' meeting to be held in Abu Dhabi next month for overcoming fiscal and external deficits as it helped in strengthening democracy. She said this to a four-member delegation of German parliamentarians led by its MP Ute Koezy on Wednesday.
Fehmida said that Pakistan was committed to eradication of extremism and terrorism to give peace and stability a chance. She said that only addressing the root causes could eliminate the scourge of extremism and terrorism. The NA Speaker said, the issues of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and provision of infrastructure for development need to be tackled to curb extremism.
'Adoption of unanimous resolution by all political parties on the issues of national security and curbing extremism, was a big achievement of the Parliament and will go a long way in curbing the menace of terrorism,' she maintained.
She apprised of the delegation about the functioning of the parliament and NA Standing Committees, where women avail of substantial representation. She said that awareness among women in the country is high and they are possessing important slots in various departments.
Furthermore, women should be empowered economically and politically for protection of their rights, she said adding that Pakistan has the distinction of having first women prime minister and first women speaker in the Islamic World and the response from the Islamic Ummah in this regard was encouraging.
Underlining the role of women in development, the Speaker said that no society could prosper ignoring its women population and stressed the need for meaningful legislation to bring a pragmatic change in the lives of womenfolk. The Speaker also said that she was working on formation of women caucus in parliament and very soon, a steering committee comprising of all women parliamentarians in the NA will be constituted to work for women's welfare.