Parliament; ready to develop consensus for resolving present economic and political challenges to country says NA Speaker

Collective efforts of Academia and Agricultural scientists; essential for effectively tackling climate-related vulnerabilities says NA Speaker

Islamabad: 7th March 2023; While talking to Media Representatives on the sideline of event " Policy Dialogue on Climate Smart Agriculture and Food Security: Challenges and Way forward for Pakistan" organized by PIPS in collocation with Syngenta in Islamabad today, Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that elections across the country should be on the same day and Parliament is ready to play its role in this regard. He said, "Parliament is the only place where the struggle for democracy would succeed." He also said that consensus and dialogue is the only option for all political parties to lead the country out of socioeconomic challenges and Parliament is ready to develop consensus and dialogue among all political stakeholders in this perspective. He also said that holding elections is the shared responsibility of three stakeholders i.e. ECP, incumbent government, and all political parties and these three stakeholders should develop consensus in this regard.

In a response to another query from a journalist regarding the hike in support prices of wheat for farmers, he said that the cost of agricultural inputs needs to be rationalized to control this trend.

Earlier, Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Pakistan is the least contributor to global warming but the worst affectee of the global climate challenge. He said that climate change, food security, and sustainable agriculture are strongly interlinked. He also said that Pakistan has been facing severe impacts of climate change like drought, forest fires, and recent devastating floods.  

The Speaker said, "Pakistani nation has been successfully grappling with these challenges and will emerge victorious out of present challenges." Furthermore, he also praised the role and support of academia and intelligentsia in upgrading policy options.
 
Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that Pakistan is a blessed state with all human resources and natural blessings. He said that the Pakistani diaspora is playing a pivotal role in finding new ways of transforming agriculture as per climate change. He said that these are our agriculture scientists who can invent new seeds and new techniques for growing agricultural production. "Parliament performs a critical role in a democratic society as the institution that represents and aggregates citizen interests in the drafting and scrutiny of legislation and oversight of the executive branch. Parliamentarians are uniquely placed to ensure the effective ratification of international climate change treaties and implementation of the Paris Agreement'' said Speaker NA

Ms. Shahida Rehmani General Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus was also present on the occasion.