Islamabad, July 4,2026: In line with the vision of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to promote post-legislative scrutiny and strengthen parliamentary oversight, the Young Parliamentarians Forum on Saturday launched a two-day Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) Workshop for members of the National Assembly under the leadership of its president, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar.
The opening day of the workshop was attended by MNAs Raja Osama Sarwar, Shaista Khan, Babar Nawaz Khan, Akhtar Bibi, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Shamaila Rana, Miqdad Ali Khan, Sadaf Ihsan, Danyal Chaudhary, Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi and Neelum Kumari. Chairman of the Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness, Ali Hameed, was also present on the occasion.
The workshop is being organised by the Young Parliamentarians Forum in collaboration with the Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness (SFEA) to equip lawmakers with the knowledge, skills and practical tools needed for effective post-legislative scrutiny. The initiative is aimed at enabling parliamentarians to assess whether laws passed by Parliament are being implemented in their true letter and spirit and whether they are delivering the intended outcomes.
The organisers said the initiative seeks to strengthen Parliament’s oversight role by fostering a culture of continuous legislative review, ensuring executive accountability, identifying implementation gaps and promoting evidence-based improvements in existing laws for the benefit of the people of Pakistan.
The workshop is part of the forum’s broader efforts to strengthen parliamentary institutions and enhance the legislative capacity of members of the National Assembly. Under the leadership of Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, the forum has continued to focus on empowering young parliamentarians through training, engagement and knowledge-sharing initiatives aimed at improving parliamentary oversight, legislative performance and democratic governance.
In her opening remarks, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar outlined the objectives of the workshop, set expectations for participants and highlighted the forum’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the capacity of YPF chapters across the country. The inaugural session also featured welcome remarks by Raja Shoaib Akbar, Executive Director of the Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness.
The technical sessions, titled “What and Why of Legislative Scrutiny” and “Evaluating Law Effectiveness,” were conducted by Syed Shamoon Hashmi, Special Secretary (Special Initiatives) at the National Assembly Secretariat. Participants were briefed on Parliament’s oversight responsibilities, international best practices in post-legislative scrutiny, tools for assessing legislative effectiveness and practical approaches to evaluating the implementation and impact of laws.
The workshop also included an interactive post-budget session titled “Federal Budget and Youth Challenges,” facilitated by Mukhtar Ahmad Ali, Executive Director of the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives and founder of the Citizens Network for Budget Accountability. The session focused on analysing the Federal Budget 2026–27 from a youth perspective and examined Parliament’s role in addressing emerging challenges through effective budgetary oversight and legislative intervention.
Concluding the first day’s proceedings, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar highlighted the key takeaways from the deliberations and reaffirmed the forum’s commitment to institutionalising post-legislative scrutiny as an essential component of effective parliamentary oversight. She said strengthening parliamentarians’ capacity in this area would contribute to better implementation of laws and improved governance.
She also appreciated the contributions of National Assembly Secretariat officials Raja Muhammad Ali, Syed Arslan Kazmi and Arsalan Kiani for their role in the successful organisation of the workshop.
The Young Parliamentarians Forum believes that institutionalising post-legislative scrutiny will enable Parliament to move beyond the enactment of legislation towards ensuring its effective implementation, safeguarding constitutional rights, improving governance and reinforcing democratic accountability. It said the recommendations emerging from the workshop would help strengthen parliamentary committees and promote a more responsive, transparent and citizen-centric legislative process in Pakistan.
