Mian Raza Rabbani, Chairman Senate of Pakistan, delivered a public talk at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) on 24 November 2015. The topic of his talk was “Building a Strong, Democratic and Prosperous Pakistan”. A large number of academia, think tank notables and students attended the talk.

The Chairman gave a detailed overview ofthe challenges faced by Pakistan in areas of economy, trade & investment, security and energy. He also highlighted the strengths of the country including building of democratic institutions, successful fight against terrorism and extremism, revival of the constitution, and devolution of power to the provinces.

The Chairman spoke at length on how the region submerged into the menace of terrorism after the jehadis were left on their own in wake of Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Chairman urged the world to apply uniform standards on all terrorist incidents without any discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity or race.He also underlined the importance of resolving outstanding international issues, including Kashmir and Palestine, to bring about peace in the world.

The Chairman Senate said that the restoration of the Constitution has not only reinforced democracy and supremacy of parliament, but also restored balance among institutions. These seminal constitutional developments have very promisingly set the course for consolidation of democratic governance, strengthening of federation, greater provincial autonomy, independent judicial system, electoral process, and, most importantly, our decisive battle against terrorism and violent extremism, the Chairman added. He described the continuity of democratic process as a pre-requisite for development of the country as well as its institutions.

In conclusion, the Chairman said the way forward for Pakistan lies in: national consensus on issues; identifying priorities; all institutions to work within constitutional limits; elimination of radicalism and sectarianism and promoting tolerance; developing effective economic policies in the energy, manufacturing, agricultural and mineral sectors; free education, which does not create two classes of Pakistanis; and good governance and zero tolerance for corruption.

The well attended talk ended at Q&A session.

Earlier, the Chairman Senate attended a meeting with the officials of the International Growth Centre (IGC) at the LSE, and was briefed about Centre’s work in Pakistan. He exchanged views on possible collaboration between the Institute of Parliamentary Services, Islamabad and the LSE.

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