NA Secretariat hosts 1st meeting of Association of Secretaries of Legislatures

Boosting inter-legislature connectivity

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat on Thursday hosted the inaugural meeting of the Association of Secretaries of Legislatures of Pakistan, with the objective of fostering stronger inter-legislature connectivity, enhancing coordination, and reinforcing the parliamentary system.
Guided by the vision of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the meeting — chaired by Secretary General of the National Assembly Syed Tahir Hussain — undertook a detailed review of the implementation progress of the 64 resolutions adopted during the 18th Speakers’ Conference.
Special Secretary of the National Assembly, Syed Shamoon Hashmi, informed participants that the majority of decisions made during the 18th Speakers’ Conference, have been successfully implemented across Pakistan’s legislative bodies.
Participants deliberated on making the functioning of Public Accounts Committees more effective, empowering standing committees, adopting reformed rules of procedure — already implemented in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — and exploring modalities for virtual participation, including voting rights, in committee meetings. Consensus was reached that committee powers flow directly from the authority of the House and the rulings of the NA Speaker.
The meeting also emphasized the effective use of modern technology in parliamentary business, including enabling virtual participation of committee members, ensuring adherence to mandatory sitting days, and designating focal persons to strengthen inter-legislature linkages.
Further discussions centered on enhancing the role of the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) through robust training and capacity-building programs for officers and staff of legislatures.
The participants stressed designing more effective training courses, expanding outreach, and formally incorporating the Legislative Assemblies of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan into PIPS’ training programs.
The Secretaries also underlined the need to further strengthen the committee system and link the libraries of all legislatures through a unified digital platform for research and information sharing, thereby modernizing parliamentary functions.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Senate, Syed Hasnain Haider; Secretary General Punjab Assembly, Amir Habib; Secretary Sindh Assembly, Ghulam Muhammad Umar Farooq; Acting Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Syed Muhammad Maher; Secretary Balochistan Assembly, Tahir Shah Kakar; Secretary Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Busharat Hussain; Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, Abdul Razaq; Executive Director PIPS, Asim Khan Gauraya; Special Secretary National Assembly, Syed Shamoon Hashmi; Additional Secretary & Principal Secretary to Speaker National Assembly, Saeed Ahmed Maitla, in addition to senior officers of the National Assembly Secretariat. Staff Report