ISLAMABAD, February 11, 2013: The Sindh Assembly, which met for four hours and 28 minutes in the 5th sitting of the 40th session on Monday, adopted three resolutions. Celebration of National Women’s Day, equal rights for religious minorities, and holding of in-camera session on law and order situation in Karachi were the adopted resolutions.
The sitting was marked by low attendance as only 10 members were present at the start, 54 at the time of adjournment, while a maximum of 64 members were present at one point of sitting.
Two bills – the Sindh Higher Education Commission Bill 2013 and the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences Bill 2013 – were introduced whereas the Jinnah Sindh Medical University Bill 2012 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Sindh) Bill 2013 were deferred.
The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for three hours and 47 minutes whereas the rest of the proceedings were chaired by a member of the Panel of Chairpersons. The Speaker, the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the parliamentary leaders of PMLF and PMLQ did not attend the sitting.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Sindh Assembly met for four hours and 28 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1058 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours, witnessing the delay of 58 minutes.
- The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for three hours and 47 minutes whereas the rest of the proceedings were chaired by a member of the Panel of Chairpersons.
- The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of NPP, ANP and PMLQ (F-B) present whereas those of PMLF and PMLQ were absent.
- Only 10 members were present at the start while 54 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 64 members were present at one point of sitting.
- Four minority members were present.
- Two members applied for leave.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Seventeen of the 28 starred questions on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant minister. Additionally 27 supplementary questions were asked.
- A minority member raised an adjournment motion regarding Interior Minister’s remarks about non-Muslim communities. Two members spoke about it for 10 minutes.
Output
- Two bills – The Sindh Higher Education Commission Bill 2013 and the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences Bill 2013 – were introduced.
- The other two bills appearing on the agenda – The Jinnah Sindh Medical University Bill, 2012 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Sindh) Bill 2013 – were deferred.
- The House adopted three resolutions. These include: Celebration of National Women’s Day, Equal Rights for Religious Minorities, and holding of in-camera session on law and order situation in Karachi.
Order and Institutionalization
- Three points of order were raised during the sitting.
- A 5-minute protest was observed during the sitting. The PPPP, MQM and PMLF members protested over the remarks of a PPPP lawmaker about alleged use of government vehicles by a former advisor.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day were available to the legislators, observers and others.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN