ISLAMABAD, March 11, 2019: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh adopted a resolution on Monday to mark the completion of its 80 years of existence, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 30th sitting of the fourth session:
Members’ Participation
- The House met for two hours and 58 minutes; however, the proceedings remained suspended for six minutes due to Azan Break.
- The sitting started at 1600 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and 58 minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the rest of the sitting.
- The Leader of the House and the Leader of the opposition did not attend the sitting.
- As many as 65 lawmakers (39%) were present at commencement and 30 lawmakers (18%) at adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQMP, GDA and MMAP attended the sitting.
- As many as seven out of nine minority lawmakers attended the sitting.
- The House approved the leave of absence of three lawmakers.
Output
- The House unanimously adopted a resolution paying tribute to itself and lawmakers on the completion of 80 years of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The Minister of Environment, Climate Change & Costal Development answered all four Starred Questions. The lawmakers also asked 24 supplementary questions while the Chair disallowed a supplementary question which he ruled to be ‘irreverent’.
- The House took up five Calling Attention Notices (CANs) regarding problems faced by women due to poor condition of Layari General Hospital, illegal encroachment of Government Park and Resident Club in Karachi due to Pakistan Super League (PSL), government measures to control the traffic and security in Karachi, threats posed by high voltage lines in the rural areas, establishment of forensic laboratory in Sindh.
- The House did not take up an Adjournment Motion due to the absence of its mover.
Order and Institutionalization
- The lawmakers belonging to opposition parties (PTI, GDA, MQMP) protested in front of Speaker’s dais for four minutes against the decision of the Chair for not allowing them to speak on Points of Order related to chairmanship of Public Accounts Committee. They walked out of proceedings at 1630 hours and did not return to the House till its adjournment.
- The House was adjourned to meet again on March 12, 2019 (Tuesday) at 1400 hours.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted