Islamabad August 6, 2015: Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that Senate of Pakistan has played a commendable role for creating national harmony, broad based political understanding and provincial cohesion since its inception. He said that unanimous adoption of 1973 constitution was a turning point in the history of Pakistan when entire political spectrum agreed to revert to the state’s original philosophy by conceiving a bicameral federal parliament. Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said this while addressing Senate of Pakistan Founding Day commemorative function held in Parliament House, Islamabad this evening as Chief Guest.

While addressing the august gathering, the Speaker said that it was his pleasure to join the illustrious parliamentarians in marking this historic day which was surely a step forward in documenting the democratic history of Pakistan. He congratulated Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani for this initiative which will enable the youth to learn about their true inheritance.

He said that Senate of Pakistan in it’s over four decades of history, had evolved as an important institution where standard of debate has become a parliamentary bench-mark while the maturity of its members has brought sagacity to the institution of Parliament. The Speaker said that with the passage of subsequent amendments in the constitution of Pakistan, Senate has become more powerful in all maters of legislation, representation and oversight.

The Speaker said that Bicameralism was essence of a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-cultural federation which has helped the democracies around the world to become participatory and pluralistic instead of drifting towards the tyranny of majority. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that Pakistan was envisaged as a federal parliamentary democracy by the Quaid-e-Azam but unfortunately the chosen path was discarded and the nation was put on a blind ally of authoritarian rule. He said that persistent denial of provincial autonomy and the consequential absence of the federating unit’s voice in the affairs of the state in over two decades of the country’s initial points towards the quest for meaningful democracy.

Apprising the audience about his initiative of launch of Parliamentary studies programme in universities, he said that it was a beneficial way to inculcate democratic culture in the minds of youth highlighting the history, struggle and importance of parliamentary democracy in Pakistan. “No text book educates young minds about those unsung heroes who struggled for people’s rights and democracy”, he said.

The Speaker said that Senate and National Assembly have always stood together for defence of constitutional rights and freedoms. He expressed his commitment to further cement this comradeship for making the institution of Parliament supreme as envisaged by the constitution of Pakistan.