ISLAMABAD, March 27: The fifth sitting of Balochistan Assembly’s 31st session, starting 75 minutes behind schedule, met for an hour and 16 minutes on Tuesday.
The House adopted a Resolution calling the provincial government to restore the sacked employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Five Points of Order consumed 15 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
A total of 26 Members were present at the outset of the sitting while 19 were there when it was adjourned.
The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 20 minutes.
The parliamentary leaders of the BNPA, PML, JUI and ANP attended the proceedings.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Balochistan Assembly met for an hour and 16 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1715 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours. The House proceedings started late by an hour and 15 minutes.
- The Speaker chaired the sitting.
- The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 20 minutes.
- The Parliamentary Leaders of the BNPA, ANP, JUI and PML were present, while those of Like-Minded Group, JUI (Ideological), NP and PMLN were absent.
- Twenty-six Members (40% of total Membership – 65) were present at the start and 19 (29%) when the sitting was adjourned.
- One minority Member was present.
Representation and Responsiveness
- All four questions on the agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant Ministry.
- Eight Members spoke on the Adjournment Motion about smuggling of livestock for 50 minutes.
Output
- No Bills appeared on the Orders of the Day.
- The House adopted a Resolution calling the provincial government to restore the sacked employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Order and Institutionalization
- Five Points of Order consumed 15 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
- There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
- Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Balochistan Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development (CPD), a member organization of FAFEN