Islamabad : Advisor to the Chairman Senate on Special Initiatives & Project Development Unit (PDU) held a meeting with the Chief of Mission and representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Pakistan Office, to discuss the concept of a parliamentary platform on migration for institutional collaboration on migration governance. The meeting was facilitated by the Project Development Unit (PDU), Senate Secretariat.
Advisor Rida Qazi welcomed the UN IOM delegation and outlined the purpose of the engagement, underscoring the growing strategic importance of migration as a cross-cutting policy issue with national, regional, and global implications. She highlighted the need for structured parliamentary engagement in enhancing legislative understanding, strengthening oversight, and promoting policy coherence in addressing migration-related challenges and opportunities.
The Senate intends to develop a dedicated parliamentary platform to address migration as a multidimensional issue. Advisor Rida Qazi said that Pakistan faces three unique migration challenges, economic, environmental and rights based, all of which need a platform for homogenised policy support with universal national messaging. The Parliamentary platform is envisioned as a mechanism to promote evidence-based legislation and to enhance Pakistan’s parliamentary engagement on migration at national and international forums in aid of the executive.
The Chief of Mission IOM Pakistan, expressed full support for the proposed initiatives and outlined proposed areas of engagement with the Senate of Pakistan and its secretariat. Discussions focused on IOM’s offer of orientation sessions and capacity-building support for parliamentarians, alongside an exchange on key thematic areas, including effective migration management, migration and development, global and regional migration frameworks, and climate-induced mobility. She raised the potential for positive parliamentary contribution to the workings of the Global Compact for Migration.
The meeting concluded with an understanding of initial priorities and broad next steps, laying the foundation for sustained cooperation between the Senate Secretariat, Senate of Pakistan, and IOM in support of strengthened parliamentary engagement on migration governance.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
