ISLAMABAD, March 11, 2013: The Senate, which met for three hours and seven minutes in the 14th sitting of the 91st session on Monday, suspended its regular agenda to debate the incidentof Badami Bagh in Lahore. Tweleve members deliberated upon the issue for an hour and 58 minutes.
The MQM members staged a token walkout over the incidence.
The sitting was marked by low attendance as only nine senators were present at the outset and seven when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum of 26 senators were present at one point of the sitting.
The Capital University Islambad Bill 2013, and the Pakistan Psychological Council Bill 2013 were taken up and sent to the relevant standing committees.
The Deputy Chairman presided over the entire sitting. The Leader of the House, the Leader of the Opposition and the parliamentary leaders of MQM, ANP, JUIF and NP attended the sitting.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Senate met for three hours and seven minutes. The house tooka prayer break of 28 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1715 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours, witnessing a delay of an hour and 15 minutes.
- The Deputy Chairman chaired the entire sitting.
- The Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of MQM, ANP, JUIF, and NP were present whereas those of PML, BNPA, and PMLF were absent.
- Only nine senators were present at the outset while seven were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 26 senators were present at one point of the sitting.
- Two minority senators attended the proceedings.
- Eleven senators applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- A PPPP and an independent senator raised an adjournment motion to debate the Badami Bagh incident (violence in Joseph Colony). Tweleve members deliberated upon the issue for an hour and 58 minutes.
Output
- Two bills – The Capital University Islambad Bill 2013, and the Pakistan Psychological Council Bill 2013 – were taken up and sent to the relevant standing committees.
Order and Institutionalization
- Eight points of order consumed 20 minutes of the sitting time.
- The MQM members staged a 10-minute walkout over the incidence of Badami Bagh.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to legislators, observers and others.
- Information on senators’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), a member organization of FAFEN