Rs 3,000
The Parliamentary Budget Process in Pakistan is recognised as suffering from a number of weaknesses, highlighted by Parliamentarians, civil society groups and the media over the past several years. There is a need for reform of the Parliamentary Budget Process in Pakistan, to ensure that it is made more participatory, informed and effective, thus strengthening Pakistan’s democracy and institutions. Even though some reforms have been introduced in the 13th National Assembly of Pakistan and some in the 15th Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, smooth operationalisation of these reforms, as well as more comprehensive reforms, are required to enable Pakistan’s elected representatives to carry out an effective scrutiny and oversight of public budget at the centre and the provinces. PILDAT has been working to strengthen the Parliamentary Budget Process in Pakistan since 2002. It helped facilitate a bipartisan consensus that has resulted in the current movement forward on required reforms. PILDAT organized two Roundtable Discussions on Parliamentary Budget reforms in Pakistan. The First Roundtable Discussion was organized on February 19, 2013 in Lahore while the second roundtable Discussion was organized on February 20, 2013 in Islamabad. Two Indian experts were invited to present Indian Parliament and Indian State Legislatures’ best practices on the Budget Process. This report captures proceedings of the two Roundtable Discussions held in Lahore and Islamabad.
