PILDAT held a two-day workshop for the MPAs of NWFP under the title of Provincial Budget Process on Monday April 05 � Tuesday April 06, 2004 at Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar as part of �Strengthening National and Provincial Legislative Governance in Pakistan� to prepare members of the Provincial Assembly to effectively review and analyze the budget before its approval.

The workshop was attended by 33 MPAs, of five parties including MMA, ANP, PML(Q), PPP(S) and PML(N).

Mr. Bakht Jahan Khan, Speaker, Provincial Assembly of NWFP presided over first session while Mr. Zia Ur Rehman, Provincial Secretary Finance of NWFP spoke about Conditions and Factors Influencing the Budget. Mr. Naveed Qamar, MNA-Former Federal Finance Minister, presided over the second session in which Mr. Saif Ur Rehman, Director Budget Government of NWFP presented an overview of the Provincial Budget Process. Mr. Gustasip Khan, MPA-Leader of the opposition, NWFP presided over third session while Mr. Nazir Ahmed, Secretary, Provincial Assembly of NWFP and Mr. Gustasip Khan, MPA-Leader of the opposition, NWFP spoke about the Responsibilities of the MPAs relating to the Budget Process. Mr. Muhammad Idrees, Provincial Minister Local Government, presided over the fourth session that included a panel discussion on the Fiscal Autonomy and Federalism. The penal comprised Mr. Gustasip Khan, MPA-Leader of the opposition, NWFP; Qazi Muhammad Asad Khan, MPA-PML (Q); Ms. Sabra Shakir MPA-MMA and Mr. Israr Ullah Khan Gandapur, MPA-PPP (S).

All sessions were followed by an active Q&A session that provided a forum for debate and exchange of relevant ideas between speakers and the participating audience. The session proceedings were conducted both in Urdu and English.