January 1; From December 2-5, 2014, PILDAT, in partnership with the CPA UK, organised a Study Visit of a multi-party delegation of five senior Members from the Parliament of Pakistan.

The Study visit focussed on the internal structures and ethos of UK political parties and how they develop their positions on national security issues in the UK. The programme was designed to give the delegation a deeper understanding of the UK national security framework, including the role of political parties in formulating the UK national security strategy along with the parliamentary oversight of defence related spending and intelligence activities. The programme also addressed the issue of the changing face of national and international security.

The Study Visit was second of its kind. In 2012, a delegation comprising senior members of the Parliament representing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, as well as representatives of major political parties and PILDAT’s Dialogue Group on Civil-Military Relations joined a Study Visit focussing on Democratic and Parliamentary Oversight on Defence and National Security in the UK. A report of the earlier Study Visit can be accessed here:
PAKISTANI PARLIAMENTARIANS & INTELLECTUALS ON DEMOCRATIC OVERSIGHT ON DEFENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE UK

The delegation comprised Senator Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari, (Independent, Punjab), Member Senate Standing Committee on Defence; Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, MNA, (NA-19, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PML-N), Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatization; Senator Nawabzada Saifullah Magsi, (PPPP, Balochistan); Mr. Sufyan Yusuf, MNA, (NA-247, Karachi-IX, Sindh, MQM), Chairman, National Assembly Standing Committee on Communication and Syeda Zahra Wadood Fatemi, MNA, (NA-296-Women Punjab, XXIV, PML-N).

As a mechanism to imbibe learning from the Study Visit, each delegate agreed to pen-down an overview of the Study Visit. This report has been principally authored by Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, MNA, currently serving as the Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and previously Minister of State for Finance. The report also carries glimpses and analyses by Syeda Zahra Wadood Fatimi, MNA and Senator Mohsin Leghari. The report provides incisive details gleaned from interactions at the Study Visit and is arguably the most comprehensive account of the Study Visit.

PILDAT gratefully acknowledge the most dedicated, organised, thorough and professional support and facilitation provided by the team at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association – UK Branch (CPA-UK) under the very able leadership of Mr. Andrew Tuggey, DL. Special thanks are due to Ms. Mariam El-Azm, Asia-Pacific Programme Manager, International Outreach Team, CPA-UK for coordinating the Study Visit Programme alongside her very dedicated colleagues. A CPA-UK report on the Visit can be accessed at http://uk-cpa.org/news/cpa-uk-hosts-a-delegation-of-members-from-pakistan/

PILDAT also acknowledges with thanks the financial support provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK through the British High Commission, Islamabad in funding the Study Visit through the programme “Dialogue on Civil-Military Relations in Pakistan” being implemented by PILDAT.