Islamabad, November 03, PILDAT has welcomed and appreciated the approval of the amendment to give powers of budget scrutiny to Standing Committees. "This is one of the most crucial reforms required in the National Assembly as it allows public representatives to truly discharge their role of control and scrutiny over purse strings," said PILDAT, thanking and congratulating all the members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, under the chairmanship of Mr. Nadeem Afzal Gondal, MNA, (NA-64 Sargodha-I, Punjab, PPPP) for this initiative to approve this key reform.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges in its meeting held on November 1 approved, in principle, the role of standing committees in budget scrutiny. After approval of this amendment, due in the next sitting of the Committee, all National Assembly Standing Committees would be able to scrutinize, amend if necessary, and approve each ministry or department's annual budgetary proposals / demands for grants and appropriations and development expenditure for the next fiscal year of their relevant Ministry.

The amendment in rules was proposed jointly by MNAs including Mr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, MNA (NA-96, Gujranwala-II, Punjab, PML-N) and later Ms. Anusha Rahman Khan, MNA, (NA-288, Punjab XVI, PML-N) and has the support of a large number of reform-minded MNAs.

PILDAT has been working closely with Parliamentarians for urgent need to strengthen the Parliamentary Budget Process in Pakistan. Parliamentary Control of the Purse Strings is one of the most crucial powers of any Parliament. As the representative of the people, Parliament is the appropriate place to ensure that the Budget best matches the nation's needs with available resources. Such an exercise demands detailed engagement of the Parliament with the Budget Process and this detailed engagement is only possible inside the Standing Committees, an exercise that most democratic countries' Parliaments and Standing Committees perform yearly, including the neighbouring India where Standing Committees take 1 month to scrutinize demands for grants before the House discusses the budget as a whole. Canada offers another example, among other countries, where Parliamentary Committees both consult the people on what should form part of the budget and submit those proposals to the Government, as well as scrutinize estimates / demands for grants of each ministry.

PILDAT's recommendations to strengthen the Parliamentary Budget Process have included holding of pre-budget session of the Parliament as early as February every year to get systematic Parliamentary input for the Budget and Annual Development Programme; holding of hearings by Finance and other Parliamentary Committees to solicit expert and public input for upcoming Budget every year; a sufficient time period for the Standing Committees to review the demands for grants relating to their respective ministries or divisions and extension in the duration of the annual Budget Session to allow a more meaningful input and debate in the Parliament.