Youth Manifesto 2012 190912

YouthManifesto2012About Youth Parliament PakistanAfter the successful conclusion of the term of 3 earlier batches of YouththParliament Pakistan (in 2007, 2008-2009 and 2010), the 4 and currentbatch was selected from across the country in 2012 for a one-year term. 60Young Pakistanis between the ages of 18 to 29 (as of January 01, 2012) havebeen selected to be members.The Youth Parliament initiative, undertaken by PILDAT, trains youngPakistanis in values of engagement through reasoned dialogue, the use ofresearched facts beyond simple perceptions, the ability of tolerance of othersviews and a deeper understanding of Pakistan itself, its various regionalissues and perceptions, and finding practical solutions to those problems.Youth Parliament Pakistan is patterned after the National Assembly ofPakistan and its members, selected from across the country, engage inParliamentary business including debate on important national issues,legislation, and overseeing and scrutinising key national policies from theyouth's perspective. The well-researched and objective perspectives of theYouth Parliament Pakistan to various State and Governmental policies thateach batch offers to various Ministries and relevant ParliamentaryCommittees from time to time, was recognized at the highest policy levelwhen the Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, invited twoYouth Parliament representatives to present their views on draft NationalEducation Policy in the Federal Cabinet meeting held on September 09,2009.An independent Steering Committee comprising veteran and youngmembers of Pakistan's Parliament will lead the selection process. TheSteering Committee includes Senator S. M. Zafar as chairman, while theother members include Mr. Wazir Ahmad Jogezai, former Deputy SpeakerNational Assembly of Pakistan, Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, MNA, DeputySpeaker National Assembly of Pakistan, Patron Youth Parliament Pakistan;Dr. Donya Aziz, MNA, President Young Parliamentarians Forum, Mr. KhurramDastgir Khan, MNA, Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee onCommerce, Ms. Anusha Rahman Khan, MNA, Secretary YoungParliamentarians Forum, Mr. Nadeem Afzal Gondal, MNA, Chairman PublicAccounts Committee, and Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive DirectorPILDAT.The Youth Parliament follows its own two-Party System, an elected Leader ofthe House or Youth Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, a YouthCabinet, a Shadow Cabinet and Standing Committees. Youth Parliamentmembers are also twined with their respective members of the NationalAssembly of Pakistan in their constituencies and work in close coordinationwith National Assembly Standing Committees. Among other subjects, atraining workshop on counter terrorism and extremism has also been held forthis batch focussing on young people's abilities to engage in a reasoneddialogue as opposed to violence.11