President of German parliament: German, Pakistani political system juxtaposed

Dr Lammert says Pakistan has made remarkable constitutional amendments.

ISLAMABAD:

President of German parliament Prof Dr Norbert Lammert on Wednesday said Pakistan had made remarkable constitutional amendments through consensus.

Dr Lammert, who is currently on a three-day visit to Pakistan,  was addressing the parliamentarians, senators, scholars and professionals at Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services, on ‘Parliament, political parties and government: a democratic balance of power’.

Dr Lammert also spoke on similarities between Germany and Pakistan, besides regional, cultural and developmental differences. “Our constitution also gives symbolic authority to the president, while the chancellor is strong in the system,” he said, adding that Germany, which is half the size of Pakistan, with over 600 public representatives, has twice as many parliamentarians.

Earlier, in a meeting Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Dr Lammert agreed on enhancing parliamentary cooperation between National Assembly of Pakistan and German Bundestag.



Both the leaders agreed that strengthening of political institutions and democracy were imperative for development of any nation.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said Pakistan valued its friendship with Germany and desired to strengthen its parliamentary and economic cooperation.

“Germany has been vocal and staunch supporter of Pakistan and has always extended assistance in recent years,” he added

Sadiq said Pakistan believes in peace and good relations with its neighbours and wanted resolution of all contentious issues through peaceful means.

“Peace and stability is imperative for the progress and prosperity in the region,” he said.

Dr Lammert praised the resilience of Pakistani nation which has gone through decades old insurgency. He said that German Bundestag would embark on a pragmatic and issue driven programme for enhancing cooperation between both the parliaments.

“This visit has helped me and my colleagues to see the reality about Pakistan,” he said as he agreed to enhancing economic cooperation in diverse fields.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2014.