ISLAMABAD, November 17, 2017: 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 second sitting of the 49th session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for an hour and two minutes.
- The sitting started at 1035 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for 13 minutes while a member of the Panel of Chairpersons presided the rest of the proceedings.
- The Deputy Speaker was present but he did not chair the proceedings.
- The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- As many as 12 (3%) lawmakers were present at the outset and 73 (21%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, PML-Z, BNP attended the sitting.
- Four minority lawmakers were present.
Output
- The Chairmen of the Standing Committees on Planning, Development & Reform, Water Resources, Human Rights and Interior presented the periodical reports of their respective committees for the period of January – June, 2017.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House did not hold the Question Hour.
- The House took up a Calling Attention Notice (CAN) regarding the cutting of 30-40 years old trees to widen the roads in Islamabad. The Parliamentary Secretary on Interior made a statement on the issue.
- The House did not address a CAN regarding shortage of water due to absence of the relevant minister.
- The House did not take up the Motion of Thanks to the President for his Address to the Parliament.
Order and Institutionalization
- The lawmakers raised four Points of Order consuming six minutes of the proceedings.
- The lawmakers belonging to the opposition staged a walkout against the absence of the Minister for Water Resources to respond to a CAN.
- A female lawmaker of PTI pointed out the quorum at 1107 hours that led to the suspension of the proceedings for 30 minutes. However, the quorum was found incomplete on resumption of the proceedings that led to the adjournment of the sitting till Monday November 20, 2017 1600 hours.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- Information on Members’ attendance is available on the National Assembly website
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly’s proceedings, conducted by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted