Seminar: Comparing manifestos for civil servants

The PPP’s manifesto is geared towards their vote bank, says Safiya Aftab.

ISLAMABAD:

Political parties’ manifestos might not influence voters’ preferences to a significant extent, but they can be used to hold political parties accountable and on Wednesday a group of civil servants from the National Management College learned more about the 2013 party manifestos at a seminar at the Jinnah Institute in Islamabad.

Safiya Aftab, an economist and analyst, discussed the economic policies of various parties and highlighted their similarities and differences. “The PTI manifesto reads like a party contesting the election for the first time - ambitious and confident, whereas PML-N’s manifesto seems more business-friendly,” Aftab said. The PPP’s manifesto is geared towards their vote bank, she said.

Dr AH Nayyar, an educationist discussed the education system, focusing on the challenges related to the curricula. Except for Punjab, provincial govts have not modernised textbooks, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2013.