E-parliament initiative’

Laptops distributed among KP Assembly membersBy Bureau reportPESHAWAR: Both the lawmakers from treasury and opposition benches of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly said Tuesday “The e-parliament initiative” provides a way for parliamentarians to perform all legislative tasks efficiently and effectively by digital methods which will potentially transform the legislative system completely.The KP Assembly members said this at the laptop distribution ceremony for the parliamentarians by the Blue Veins, a non-government organisation, with the support of the Australian government.Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, KP Assembly speaker, acknowledged the efforts of Blue Veins and stated: “The e-parliament initiative” is a global effort that has been introduced in the KP Assembly recently but has given parliamentarians today more room to be innovative and gain new digital skills helping them achieve greater openness and transparency.”He added that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has always accepted innovative practices and hoped these laptops would greatly help the legislators in drafting questions and resolutions as well as being up-to-date with the session agendas.Mehmood Jan, KP Assembly Deputy speaker, stated that the innovation does not happen overnight, however, lawmakers have historically been considered to be good innovators.He said a conscious effort to modernize their institutional culture means that innovative practices are more likely to be accepted, which is why this Initiative is an efficient way for legislators to use their primary functions of law-making, representation, and oversight more effectively.Maliha Ali Asghar, Chairperson, Women Parliamentary Caucus, stated that Women’s Parliamentary Caucus is all about enhancing women’s role in participating in parliamentary issues and has been the most vital and indispensable to strengthen the parliamentary matters.Qamar Naseem, Programme Coordinator, Blue Veins, stated that the civil society is crucial to enhancing transparency and good governance by increasing public debate on issues surrounding the formulation and implementation of certain laws and policies of the government.“Our organization has constantly promoted efforts for the effective collaboration between the civil society and the parliamentary representatives. We believe that the e-parliament is an initiative that holds great potential in the future working of the assembly and hope that this contribution will benefit the system,” he added. A total number of 11 laptops were distributed among the MPAs.­

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