ISLAMABAD, December 10, 2016: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has browsed through the parliamentary data on human rights taken up by the legislators...
ISLAMABAD, August 12, 2016: Young parliamentarians in the National Assembly actively participated in legislative business and contributed to house agenda to address critical issues...
The fourteenth National Assembly has passed 63 bills during 28 sessions held since its inauguration on June 3, 2013, showing slightly improved legislative performance...
Twenty-fifth session of National Assembly spanned over four sittings only and proved to be the smallest session of the current parliamentary year. It was...
FAFEN releases the Attendance Report Card for the 24th National Assembly Session. The report is based on the attendance data made public by the National Assembly Secretariat. The report sheds light on overall attendance of the lawmakers during the session as well as the attendance of key members such as Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, parliamentary leaders and federal ministers.
Women lawmakers in the National Assembly have been more active and assertive in their lawmaking and oversight role compared to their male counterparts, says a performance analysis released by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on International Women’s Day. FAFEN’s direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings shows that the women lawmakers accounted for nearly half of the parliamentary business conducted between June 2014 and February 2015 – despite the fact that they represent only 22% of the total membership.
The 13th National Assembly brought yet another transition to democracy in Pakistan. Pakistan faced uncertainty and lingering political instability from 2008 to 2013. The defining feature of this period in Pakistan's history was the executive-judiciary tussle. President Zardari, who took over as a civilian President from General Musharraf in 2008, did not initially restore the sacked higher judiciary. It was eventually done due to the intense mobilization of the lawyers and opposition political parties. However, seeds of the executive-judiciary tussle mushroomed into political instability. It forms the backdrop to the way the 13th National Assembly functioned and completed its tenure.
As the first parliamentary year of the incumbent 14th National Assembly is nearing to an end, women legislators performed impressively, asserting themselves in their lawmaking role, according to a Free and Fair Election Network on the International Women’s Day. They played an active role in the lawmaking process by submitting 12 private member bills (six singly and six jointly with their colleagues). These bills mainly focused of issues pertaining to governance, human rights, democracy and political development. Similarly, women parliamentarians, singly, submitted 20 resolutions, 14 calling attention notices, 1,383 questions, 22 motions under rule 259 and raised 64 points of order during the reporting period.
The 14th National Assembly took oath on June 1, 2013 after a landmark smooth and democratically managed transfer of power. Despite allegations of rigging and irregularities in the May 11 elections, the transition of power remained august as the newly-elected members took oath indicating at the increasing maturity that political organization had achieved, strengthening democracy. The oath-taking of members was followed by the election of the Speaker in a triangular contest that clearly established the majority of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) in the National Assembly.
