NDI President Wollack Discusses Party Reform with Pakistani President Zardari

NDI President Kenneth Wollack met in Islamabad last week with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari for a wide ranging conversation that included discussion of Institute programs to support political reform in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and to strengthen Pakistani political parties.

Wollack also met with Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, as well as other leaders of ruling and opposition political parties, civil society and the diplomatic community.

NDI has recently embarked on a new five-year program in Pakistan, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, to strengthen the country’s political parties as they work to develop policies that give voice to grassroots political activists, particularly women and youth. The program is being conducted in partnership with the International Republican Institute, the Institute for Public Opinion Research and the Strengthening Participatory Organization.

In August, President Zardari extended political and legal reforms to FATA, the result of a lengthy effort by political parties and other organizations to bring a more democratic system of governance to a region considered a haven for extremists. This effort was facilitated by a series of round tables with senior leaders of 10 political parties that followed regional meetings in FATA beginning in 2008 with support from NDI in partnership with the Shaheed Bhutto Foundation (SBF). NDI’s FATA program, supported by the British Foreign Commonwealth Office, is continuing to work with political parties, parliamentarians and FATA citizens to reach consensus on additional areas for reform.

Prior to arriving in Pakistan, Wollack spent three days in Iraq, where he met with a number of political leaders, including Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al Nujaifi, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al Hashemi and Amar al Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. Additionally, Wollack met with representatives of civic groups, including the National Platform for Women, a coalition of political party members, civil society activists and government officials from across Iraq that is one of NDI’s partner organizations. NDI’s programs in Iraq support the long-term development of the Iraqi parliament, political parties and civil society organizations.

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Published Nov. 25, 2011