ISLAMABAD, November 15, 2018: The Chairman Senate, on Thursday, barred the Federal Minister for Information from attending the Upper House proceedings for rest of the ongoing session, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the House proceedings of the fourth sitting of 284th session:
Members’ Participation
- The House met for three hours and 31 minutes.
- The sitting started at the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
- The Chairman presided over the entire sitting.
- The Deputy Chairman was not present.
- The Leader of the House attended the sitting for two hours and 50 minutes.
- The Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting two hours and 53 minutes.
- The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PML-N, PPPP, NP, ANP, BNP-M and PkMAP attended the proceedings.
- As many as 13 senators (12% of the total membership) were present at the outset and 14 (13%) at the end of the sitting.
- As many as two out of four minority senators attended the sitting.
Output
- Tabled by a JUI-F lawmaker, the House adopted a resolution urging the government to take steps for securing release of Dr. Afia Siddiqui from American prison.
- On behalf of Chairperson Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, a member of the committee presented its report on the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
- On behalf of the Chairman Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony, a member of the committee presented its report on a point of public importance regarding utilization of zakat funds for education and health sectors.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House did not hold Question Hour and left two Calling Attention Notices and a discussion on Presidential Address to the Parliament unaddressed.
- As many as 23 lawmakers participated in an unscheduled discussion on Chairman’s ruling to bar minister from attending Senate proceedings and killing of a of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police officer in The discussion continued for an hour and 55 minutes.
- The Minister of State for Interior made a ten-minute long statement before the House on KP police officer’s killing in Afghanistan.
Order and Institutionalization
- An NP lawmaker pointed out the lack of quorum at 1102 hours which led to the suspension of the proceedings for 30 minutes.
- The opposition lawmakers walked out from proceedings for 33 minutes in protest over the language used by the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting during previous sittings of the House.
- The Chairman issued a ruling barring the entry of the Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the Senate for ongoing session.
- The House was adjourned to meet again on November 16, 2018 at 1030 hours.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers is available on the website.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceeding conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted