LAHORE:
Pakistan wants to work towards an Asian Parliament on the pattern of European Parliament, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said on Saturday.
He was briefing journalists about the 7th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) starting in the city on Monday.
Syed said the theme of this year’s conference was Quest for Asian Parliament in Asian Century.
“This century is Asia’s century. The balance of power is shifting from the West to East. We are serving as a bridge between South Asia and the Middle East,” said Syed who is also chairman of the APA’s Organising Committee.
The senator briefed the journalists about the assembly, its structure, committees, the women Asian parliamentary forum and its agendas.
Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari is the chairman of the APA for two years.
“The future of Asia depends largely on the regional leadership. It is time for leaders to join hands and shape the future of Asia,” Syed said.
The senator said the Monday conference would be the biggest international parliamentary conference in the history of Lahore. He said the APA’s vision was presented in Islamabad in November 2004 when the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace had decided to transform itself into an APA.
“Pakistan will now present a vision to transform the APA into an Asian Parliament,” he said. He said Pakistan had been playing a leadership role in the APA by presenting various ideas and initiatives.
Syed said Asian leaders needed to discuss the issues the continent faced. “This assembly is the right platform for such a discussion,” he said.
The senator said Indian efforts to isolate Pakistan had failed. Today, he said, Pakistan was being courted by China, Russia and the US.
“Nobody should think that people don’t want to come to Pakistan. Distinguished delegates from 25 countries are arriving here for the three-day conference,” he said.
Syed said the APA would look forward to have a media forum for cooperation and exchanges among Asian journalists.
Asked whether the APA would be able to achieve its goals of regional cooperation, he said similar apprehensions were raised at the time of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation formation. “The Asian Parliament is a doable vision. After all, the European Parliament and the Pan African Parliament are a reality,” the senator said.
Senate Additional Secretary Pervaiz Abbas and Administration Joint Secretary Senate Maj (r) Husnain Haider also attended the briefing.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2014.
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