ISLAMABAD, October 15, 2021: The National Assembly was adjourned on Friday due to lack of quorum amidst absence of the Leaders of the House and the Opposition, observes Free and Fair Election Network in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during 2nd sitting of the 37th session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for 36 minutes.
- The sitting started at 11:21 am against the scheduled time of 11:00 am.
- The speaker presided over the entire sitting.
- The deputy speaker was not present.
- The leaders of the house (Prime Minister) and the opposition did not attend the sitting.
- As many as 58 (17 percent) lawmakers were present at the outset and 76 (22 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PML-N, BAP and GDA attended the sitting.
- Two minority lawmakers were present.
Output
- The House did not consider legislative agenda including two ordinances and one government bill.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House did not consider five motions for consideration of as many bills in the joint sitting of the Parliament, a calling attention notice (CAN) and a motion of thanks to the President.
- Parliamentary Secretary for Finance responded to a CAN regarding non-allocation of additional three percent of National Finance Commission Award to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It was referred to the relevant committee for further deliberation.
Order and Institutionalization
- A lawmaker belonging to PPPP pointed out the quorum at 11:49 am and subsequently the opposition walked out from the proceedings. The quorum was found incomplete upon counting and the House was adjourned to meet again on Monday, October 18, 2021 at 04:00 pm.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to legislators, observers and public.
- Attendance of lawmakers was available to 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