ISLAMABAD (INP): Over 200 Parliamentarians from 53 countries of the Commonwealth have unanimously chosen Pakistan as the venue of its 61st Conference at the concluding plenary of the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Assembly (CPA), in Yaounde, Cameroon, according to a message received from Cameroon.

The occasion witnessed some very emotional moments when Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was elected as the President of the CPA for the year 2014-2015. The Speaker was escorted to the President’s chair amidst dancing and singing of the African and Caribbean delegates, especially the parliamentarians of South Africa, Malta, Tanzania, Swaziland and others.

He thanked the delegates for their overwhelming support to the Pakistani proposal and assured the Conference of his Parliament’s best efforts to make the 2015 Conference a success.

Earlier, the Speaker National Assembly made a presentation on the proposal to host the Conference in Pakistan, which was followed by a short documentary, especially prepared for the occasion.

In his speech, the Speaker said that the holding of the 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in my country will be yet another great boost for the democratic forces of Pakistan as it will be a manifestation of your combined confidence in our democracy and your unwavering support to our system.

He said that the developing democracy in Pakistan stands at a defining moment of our history. The year 2013 saw the first peaceful democratic transition of power from one elected government to the other under a complete civilian rule in Pakistan. It was certainly a historic landmark, he added.