Islamabad, Pakistan: Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) organised a five-day orientation on the “Constitutional Frameworks of Pakistan and the Role of Legislators” for the registered Afghan refugee students at the PIPS Campus in Islamabad, from 15 to 19 August 2022. The orientation was specially designed for the Afghan students enrolled at universities across Pakistan who are receiving scholarships under the Hanns Seidel Scholarship Program (HSSP). It was a collaborative endeavour between the PIPS, the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan, the National Dialogue Forum, and the National Assembly (NA) of Pakistan.
Mr. Syed Shamoon Hashmi, Additional Secretary, NA Secretariat, advocated educating the young Afghan university students facilitated under the HSSP, on democracy to strengthen their democratic skills. He added:
Exposure to Pakistan’s democratic governmental structure will, in the long term, catalyse the peaceful coexistence and regional stability of the Pakistan-Afghanistan region.
Dr. Steffen Kudella, Resident Representative of HSF Pakistan, stressed in his opening remarks that education is the most sustainable form of political stabilisation, and this idea is reflected in the form of HSSP. Further, he added:
This training is being organised for you, to educate you about Pakistan’s parliamentary and constitutional systems, strengthen your democratic skills, and enable you to better understand your role as social multipliers for regional stability.
