ISLAMABAD, December 1, 2014: The National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution in its fourth sitting of the 16th session to condemn the killing of a former JUI-F senator in Sukkur on Saturday, says Free and Fair Election Network in its daily factsheet based on direct observation of the proceedings.
Tabled by the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the resolution also demanded the federal and provincial governments to book the perpetrators of the attacks on JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Quetta and former senator Dr. Khalid Mehmood Soomro in Sukkur on Saturday.
The House offered prayers for the deceased senator as JUI-F members wore black armbands to protest the killing of their party leader.
With the presence of 39 (11%) lawmakers at the outset and 66 (19%) at the adjournment, the Lower House took up a calling attention notice (CAN) regarding non-implementation of safety measures on highways. In addition, the lawmakers spoke on 20 points of order for 90 minutes (43 % of the proceeding’s time).
The Speaker presided over the sitting for 96 minutes (46%) while rests of the proceedings were chaired by the Deputy Speaker. The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting, while the Opposition Leader was present in the House for 45 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the Parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings:
- The National Assembly met for three hours and 27 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1544 hours against the scheduled time of 1500 hours, witnessing a delay of 44 minutes.
- A prayer break of 20 minutes was observed during the sitting.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for 96 minutes while rests of the proceedings were chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
- The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 45 minutes.
- The parliamentary leaders of PkMAP, MQM, QWP, APML, ANP and PML-Z were present.
- Thirty-nine members (11% of the total membership) were present at the outset while 66 (19 %) were there at the adjournment. A maximum of 116 members were observed to be present at one point of the sitting.
- Seven minority members attended the sitting.
- Six members applied for leave.
Output
- The House adopted a resolution tabled by the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs to condemn the killing of a former JUI-F senator.
Representation and Responsiveness
- A female PML-N lawmaker spoke on the President’s address to the joint session of the Parliament on June 2 for 16 minutes.
- The House took up 12 out of 30 starred questions (requiring oral as well as written replies) while members raised 13 supplementary questions.
- The House also took up a calling attention notice (CAN) sponsored by three PML-N legislators regarding non-implementation of safety measures on highways.
Order and Institutionalization
- The lawmakers spoke on 20 points of order for 90 minutes.
- No protests/walkouts/boycotts were witnessed during the entire sitting.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
- Information on members’ attendance was not available to observers and the public.
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This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.