ISLAMABAD, December 13, 2019: The National Assembly did not consider most of its agenda including the legislative business on Friday and was adjourned after observing question hour, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during sixth sitting of the 17th session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for an hour and 22 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1105 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the entire sitting.
- The Deputy Speaker did not attend the sitting.
- The Leaders of the House and the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- Sixty-six lawmakers (19%) were present at the outset and 85 (25%) at the adjournment of sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PML-N and JWP attended the sitting.
- Five minority members were present.
Output
- The House did not consider three government bills including the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019, the Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the University of Islamabad Bill, 2019.
- A member of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice presented report on the Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill, 2019.
- A report of Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, six periodical reports of as many Standing Committees, a Calling Attention Notice (CAN) and a Motion of Thanks were not considered by the House.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs responded to a CAN regarding non-implementation of law relating to people with disabilities in letter and spirit.
- The House took up 14 out of 34 starred questions while lawmakers asked 26 supplementary questions as well. A short notice question of PPPP lawmaker was not considered due to his absence.
.Order and Institutionalization
- The House was adjourned to meet again on December 16, 2019 (Monday) at 1600 hours.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- Attendance of the lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted.