ISLAMABAD, October 14, 2015: With an average of 9% lawmakers present at the start and 27% at the end of each sitting, the 120th session of Senate passed four government bills and adopted seven resolutions, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). The session comprising seven sittings, started on October 5 and concluded on October 13, 2015. One sitting started on time while other started seven minutes behind the scheduled time and lasted three hour and 38 minutes on average.
ISLAMABAD, September 18, 2015: The 119th session of Senate was marked by low attendance of lawmakers during all five sittings, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). The session started on September 14 and was prorogued sine die on September 18, 2015 with almost all the sittings starting on scheduled time. On average, each sitting lasted three hours and 24 minutes with 19 (18%) lawmakers present at the outset and 26 (25%) at the time of adjournment.
ISLAMABAD, July 30, 2015: Seven bills were and passed and two resolutions adopted while the House continued to witness low attendance of the lawmakers, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). The session spanned over five sittings, started on July 6 and was prorogued sine die on July 10. The session lasted for a total of 15 hours and 15 minutes. On average, each sitting started two minutes behind the schedule with 15 members present at the outset and 36 at the end.
The 110th session of the Senate was marked by low attendance and participation of lawmakers and protest/walkouts over ministerial absence and changes in the proposed route of Pak-China Economic Corridor. As many as 54 (52%) out of 104 senators did not participate in the House proceedings. These included 20 legislators from PPPP; followed by PML-N (10); MQM (four); BNP-A, JUI-F and ANP (three each); PML (two); NP (one) and eight independent members. The session, comprising five sittings, started on January 30, 2014 and ended on February 6, 2015. On average, each sitting started 43 minutes behind the schedule and lasted two hours and 11 minutes.
Low participation and attendance of legislators, debate on the deadly terrorist attack in Peshawar and the passage of the 21st Constitution Amendment marked the 109th session of Senate that ended on Tuesday. More than one-third of the legislators did not participate in the House proceedings. These included 15 legislators belonging to the PPPP, followed by ANP (five), PML-N (four), BNP-A (three), JUI-F (two) and one each from MQM and PML in addition to eight independent members.
Discussion on policy and constitutional matters was the main concern of Senators besides law and order situation as they spent two fifths of the session time criticizing the government on the said issues through debates, says the Free and Fair Election Network in its report based on direct observation of the Senate. Through two Motions under Rule 218, the government received heavy criticism for its privatization policy and not pursuing Article 148(3) which directs federal government to protect its citizens.
Law and order and employment quotas in natural resource rich areas were the main concerns of Senators. Almost a third of the 100th session's duration was spent in the PPPP and ANP led criticisms of government, amid an overall atmosphere of low attendance and participation, says the Free and Fair Election Network in its report based on direct observation of the Senate.
The 99th session of the Senate was marked by the passage of a private member's bill and the adoption of four resolutions as senators displayed low interest in the proceedings in terms of their attendance and participation, leaving behind two-fifth of the agenda on the Orders of the Day unaddressed. The objectives of the private member's bill - the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2013 - moved by an ANP lawmaker, state that “the civil servant holding dual nationality or citizenship of any foreign country should not be entitled for promotion to posts in Basic Pay Scale 20 or equivalent and above, to ensure the loyalty of senior bureaucrats “holding influential and sensitive posts”.
The Senate held 10 sittings, starting from October 28 to November 8, 2013, which lasted 14 hours and 22 minutes. On average, each sitting spanned an hour and 26 minutes, with a delay of 72 minutes. With the exception of MQM, the opposition benches boycotted the session over the alleged misconduct of the Federal Minister for Interior. The opposition alleged that during one of the question hours, the Interior Minister had provided inaccurate information to the House on the killings in terrorists' attacks and urged him to withdraw his statement.
Senate's 97th session was marked by the introduction of six private members' bills, three of them seeking amendments in the constitution. The three bills sought amendments in articles 1, 51 and 106 and 140A of the constitution to empower the parliament to create new provinces, give workers representation in the national and provincial assemblies, and to provide for specified time in the constitution for holding local government elections.
