Dr. Amna Mahmood, In-Charge Female Campus of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), represented University in the National Conference on Teaching, Research and Writing About the Parliament, organized by the National Assembly of Pakistan in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) on follow up drive by Honourable Speaker National Assembly. The conference, held at the Parliament House, was inaugurated by the Honourable Speaker National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and brought together Vice Chancellors, faculty members, and researchers to reflect on a decade of the Parliamentary Studies Programme launched in 2015.
The first plenary session, “Experience Sharing – State of Scholarship, Studies and Research on the Parliament of Pakistan”, was chaired by Hon. Ms. Wajiha Qamar, Minister of State for Education & Training and featured speakers Prof. Dr. Irum Anjum, Vice Chancellor, Kinnaird College for Women (KCW), Lahore and other panelists from renounced university of Pakistan.
The second plenary, “Way Forward: What Shall be Done to Strengthen the Parliamentary Studies?”, was chaired by Hon. Nosheen Iftikhar, President of the Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF), with contributions from Dr. Mehboob Hussain, Dean, University of the Punjab; Mr. Zafarullah Khan, Convener, Parliamentary Research Group;
Dr. Amna Mahmood shared IIUI’s experience of embedding a specialization in parliamentary affairs within Political Science department, which has produced numerous MS theses on parliamentary topics.
She stressed the importance of aligning HEC directives with universities’ curricular autonomy, and supported vision of Honourable Speaker on the need to strengthen academia–parliament linkages through student visits, collaborative research, and interaction with parliamentarians. She proposed to establish a help desk within the National Assembly of Pakistan to maintain an effective communication with universities for visits, research and support in terms of internship programs.
The conference concluded with recommendations to deepen institutional linkages, expand research, and consolidate parliamentary studies as a sustainable discipline for strengthening democracy and governance in Pakistan.