India boycotted the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held in Islamabad from September 30, confirmed Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq. "India will not attend the Conference, however we will raise the Kashmir issue", said Ayaz Sadiq while addressing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Young Parliamentarian Forum jointly hosted the conference on Youth Civic Engagement to celebrate International Youth Day 2015.
Pakistan has a presidency for the first time in the history for a year where 53 parliaments and 173 provincial parliamentary members are coming to attend the conference. The Speaker blamed parliamentarians for not showing seriousness over the Kasur incident saying the heinous crime was used for political point scoring.
"The parliamentarians asked for adjourned motion and call attention notice, however it was a provincial matter and rules could not be broken," said Ayaz Sadiq. The Speaker said that the floor was given for a point of order where 28 members spoke on the issue. However less number of parliamentarians was present in the House when a resolution against the incident was passed. Referring to the Army Public School tragedy in Peshawar, Sadiq said that it was a terrorism incident that became a federal matter under the Pakistan Protection Act. The Speaker told media that resignation of the Muttahidha Quami Movement (MQM) parliamentarians will be accepted after verification. If MQM legislators give their resignation themselves and prove that the decision was voluntarily and without any pressure, it will be accepted, he added.
The Speaker National Assembly said that youth possess all the capability and courage to contribute and catalyse the important changes in political and democratic system, economic wellbeing and prosperity of the country. He said that youth of Pakistan was undeniably one of the most vibrant sources of innovation and creative force.
The Speaker stressed for political engagement of youth and providing them with the space in the political arena and investment in their principled leadership. He called for enabling the major chunk of population to have a greater say over not only their own future but of the country as well. He stressed upon the young Parliamentarians to make role models by reaching out to the people at grassroots and by engaging in effective legislation and insightful parliamentary oversight.
Enlightening the audience about the Young Parliamentary Associates Internship Programme, the Speaker said that the programme has become the flagship project of our parliament, which has enabled more than 100 talented and highly qualified youth to use their knowledge and energies for the benefit of the Parliament in Committee work, Legislative business, Research Department and International Relations. He further said that in order to reach out and build the capacity of youth in understanding the importance of democracy and developing indigenous human resource pool, the first ever Parliamentary Degree Course has also been launched by the National Assembly in multiple universities of Pakistan.
The Country Director of UNDP Pakistan, Marc-André Franche said there is a critical need to engage Pakistan's youth bulge, and strengthen their role in community activities and decision-making. This will only be possible by investing in youth, particularly by increasing their active civic engagement in socio-economic and political affairs. This places immense responsibility on legislators, policymakers, development practitioners, and other stakeholders. It will be up to them to provide youth with a real chance to become part of Pakistan's socio-political sphere."
The UNDP's upcoming National Human Development Report on youth will highlight the key role that Pakistani youth play in the country's future and aims to provide a strategic direction for appropriate policymaking. By ensuring the youth have access to quality education, meaningful employment and genuine opportunities for engagement, they can be mobilised to become agents of positive change towards prosperity, peace and human development, he added.
Franche said "We want to change the way youth are thought of in the country: Not as a problem to be solved, but as a potential to be realised." Shaza Fatima Khawaja MNA and General Secretary (YPF) said that the conference recognised the vital role young Pakistanis play in building social cohesion and human development. The day aims to promote ways to engage youth in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities. The theme of International Youth Day is "Youth Civic Engagement". The engagement and participation of youth is essential to achieve sustainable human development. It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities.
About 64 percent of Pakistan's population is below 29 years of age. These young people are important partners of change for the country. But with nearly 2 percent of the youth active members of community groups or other local organisations, it is imperative to dramatically change the situation on the ground and actively engage Pakistan's young people.
The government is striving hard to empower youth socially and economically through multiple interventions under the aegis of Prime Minister's Youth Programme", said Leila Khan, Chairperson Prime Minister's Youth Programme. Leila Khan added, "Prime Minister's Youth Programme is a flagship programme of the PML-N government for socio-economic development of Pakistan.
With a budget outlay of Rs 20 billion, around 300,000 people are benefiting from its different schemes annually". She explained, "Over Rs 5 billion has been distributed as business loans among more than 6500 young entrepreneurs under Prime Minister's Youth Business Loan Scheme. Under Prime Minister's Youth Training Programme, to be launched very soon, the government will extend 50,000 internships per year for 3 Yrs to Masters' degree (16 year education) and Associate Diploma holders with 25 years of age. Rs 12000 stipend will be paid per month per internee for the one-year internship period".