ISLAMABAD, November 20, 2012: Starting 32 minutes late, the ninth sitting of 87th session on Monday witnessed low attendance of Senators. Only four were present at the outset while 28 were there at the adjournment.
The sitting witnessed a five-minute token protest by a PPPP Member over not getting the permission to speak regarding the judiciary.
The House adopted a Resolution condemning the Israeli strikes on Gaza and killing of Muslims in Myanmar.
The Interior Minister spoke on the Motion under Rule 218 regarding law and order in the country for 25 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Senate met for two hours and 55 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1732 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1700 hours. The proceedings started late by 32 minutes.
- The Chairman chaired the sitting. The Deputy Chairman was not present.
- The Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition attend the entire sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PML, MQM, NP and ANP attended the sitting.
- Four Senators were present at the start of the sitting while 28 were there at adjournment. A maximum of 49 Senators were observed to be present at one point of the sitting.
- Two Senators applied for leave.
- Two minority senators were present.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Two out of 10 questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant minister. Additionally, four supplementary questions were also asked.
Output
- The House adopted a Resolution condemning the Israeli strikes on Gaza and killing of Muslims in Myanmar.
- The Interior Minister spoke on the Motion under Rule 218 regarding law and order in the country for 25 minutes.
Order and Institutionalization
- Fourteen Points of Order consumed 25 minutes of sitting time.
- The sitting witnessed a five-minute token protest by a PPPP Member over not getting the permission to speak regarding the judiciary.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day were 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