Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, while addressing the inaugural ceremony of newly constructed Senate Museum at the Parliament House on Tuesday has said that Parliament is the hallmark of democracy and it is the Parliament which can rightly be called the flag bearer of a democratic system.
The chairman Senate, in his statement, gave a detailed account of the underlying philosophy for establishing the monument of Unsung Heroes, Gali-e-Dastoor and the newly constructed Senate Museum and said that people were subjected to torture, imprisonment and were hanged for not bowing to the dictators and preferred to sacrifice their lives for upholding the cause of democracy and supremacy of the constitution and the Parliament.
The monument, he said, is to recognize the sacrifices of civil society, workers, laborers, journalist and the common man who believed in democracy.
He said that collective leadership is an essence of any democratic system and decisions are taken in a collective manner acceptable for all shades of opinion. However, contrary to this, dictatorship remains a one-man show, Raza Rabbani said.
Regarding Gali-e-Dastoor, the Senate Chairman observed that the new generation must know that the Constitution and democracy were not acquired so easily and there exists a long journey of hardships and political struggle.
The democracy, Mian Raza Rabbani said, was not given by any dictator but it was due to the struggle of common men, including political workers, labor class that the nation is enjoying the fruit of democracy.
“There is need to preserve this fruit of democracy through continuous struggle”, Raza Rabbani remarked.
He said that the museum would contribute towards institution building and strengthening the foundation of democracy in the country. Institutions can’t exist without its history and it is, therefore, highly important to preserve the historical aspects of the evolution of the Senate as House of the Federation.
The Chairman Senate said that Pakistan is a democratic country and like any other country possesses a long history of struggles to achieve and retain democracy in the country. He said that all the initiatives had been taken to remember the people who rendered sacrifices for democracy and supremacy of the Parliament.
Deputy Chairman Senate Molana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Leader of the House in the Senate Raja Muhammad Zafar-ul-Haq. The leader of the Opposition in Senate Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan and Secretary Senate Amjed Pervez Malik also addressed the gathering.
They acknowledged the contribution of Chairman Senate for taking landmark initiatives aimed at enhancing the outreach and image of the Senate.
The Chairman Senate later on also distributed Appreciation Certificates among the officials who worked on this project.
The Chairman Senate appreciated the contribution made by Lok Virsa, Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services and the Senate Secretariat in turning this dream into reality.
The leader of the Opposition in Senate Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah, Parliamentary Leaders in the Senate and Secretary Senate Amjed Pervez Malik formally inaugurated the Senate Museum and briefed them about various sections of the Museum depicting the historical evolution of the Senate of Pakistan.
