ISLAMABAD, October 07, 2016: The Joint Session of the Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Indian aggression in Occupied Kashmir and along the Line of Control and called upon the International Community to play its due role in resolving the long-standing issue, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Friday.
Following are some key observations of the proceedings during third and last sitting of the Joint Session:
Members’ Participation
- The Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) met for an hour and 49 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1145 hours against its scheduled time of 1130 hours.
- The Speaker of the National Assembly presided over the entire sitting.
- The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate did not attend the sitting while the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly was present.
- The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the House in the Senate attended the entire sitting.
- Both the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate attended the entire sitting.
- 120 parliamentarians (27%) were present at the outset and 85 (19%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
Output
- Both Houses assembled together and adopted a resolution, condemning human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir, and calling upon the international community to play its due role in stopping the bloodshed in the held Valley. It also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to resolve all outstanding issues with India through dialogue.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Eight parliamentarians took part in discussion on the prevailing situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, including violations of human rights and ceasefire along the Line of Control. The discussion continued for an hour and 31 minutes.
Order and Institutionalization
- Lawmakers spoke on two Points of Order consuming as many minutes of the proceedings.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Majlis-e-Shoora proceedings conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted.