ISLAMABAD, Mar 13 (APP): The Senate of Pakistan under the stewardship
of Raza Rabbani has witnessed significant improvement in its performance,
which will have positive effect on the prestige of the Parliament.
The Senate on March 11 completed its first parliamentary year,
2015-16, under the chairmanship of Raza Rabbani. During the period the Senate remained in session for 131 working days. Under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it is mandatory for the Senate to meet for 110 days in a parliamentary year.
Senators from both sides of the divide have paid rich tribute to Raza
Rabbani for upholding dignity of the Parliament and making performance of the House public during the last one year (March 12 last year to March 11, this year).
The first positive change that Mian Raza Rabbani introduced is the
start of session on scheduled time which had never done in the past.
Another change he introduced was to complete the agenda of the day.
During the last parliamentary year, the total time of sittings was
353 hours and 25 minutes.
During the period under reference, the Senate has undertook legislation
that translate policies for the welfare and betterment of the federation, federating units and citizenry.
Through its standing committees, motions and other mechanisms, the
House tried to play its role by holding into account and ensuring transparency in executive functions.
According to the report, the House adopted for the first time to the
people of Pakistan, public accessibility has been improved through public petitions, providing for redressal of grievances.
This report provides an overview of the activities and work performed
in the chamber, in the committees and in the Secretariat.
The Chairman Senate on the occasion said “I am certain that this report
will allow the people of Pakistan to better understand the members’ role
and responsibilities, the way in which the House of the Federation
functions and the mandate of the Senate Secretariat.”
He appreciated positive role and cooperation of the Leader of the House,
Leader of the Opposition, all parliamentary leaders and Senators for their cooperation for running business of the house in efficient manner.
Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani during the session said that access to
parliamentary information was an important pre-requisite to empower people, generating interest among citizenry, promoting transparency, accountability and best parliamentary legislative practices.
As chairman of the Senate, “I am accountable to the people of Pakistan
for institution as a whole and its performance in the parliamentary year which started from 12 March, 2015 and completed on 11 March 2016”, he said.
This report, he said, was a sequel to the initiatives and steps taken
for the Restoration of the Majesty and Transparency in Parliament (RMTP).
Raza Rabbani said that Parliament was the bedrock of democracy and focal
point of all nationals activities.