ISLAMABAD, May 3, 2019: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh adopted a resolution to commemorate World Press Freedom Day while the government introduced a bill to revive Police Order 2002, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Friday.
Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 47th sitting of the fourth session:
Members’ Participation
- The House met for two hours and 41 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1600 hours against the scheduled time of 1500 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and 22 minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the rest of the sitting.
- The Leader of the House did not attend the sitting.
- The Leader of the Opposition attended the proceedings for an hour and 23 minutes.
- As many as 48 lawmakers (29%) were present at outset and 42 (25%) at adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, TLP, PTI and MQMP attended the sitting.
- As many as seven out of nine minority lawmakers attended the sitting.
Output
- The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs introduced the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Act, 1861 and Revival of Police Order, 2002) Bill, 2019. The House referred the bill to Select Committee.
- The House unanimously adopted a joint resolution to commemorate World Press Freedom Day and pay tribute to journalists. Three lawmakers debated the resolution for 19 minutes.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The Minister for Culture, Tourism & Antiquities Department answered four out of nine starred questions while the remaining five questions were not taken up. In addition, the lawmaker asked 23 supplementary questions.
- The relevant Ministers responded two Call Attention Notices (CANs) appearing on the agenda. The responded CANs were regarding failure of Sindh Building Control Authority to prevent illegal construction in an area of Karachi East-V and poor functioning of the Municipal Committee Jacobabad.
- An Adjournment Motion (AM) of a PTI lawmaker was opposed by the government and termed `Out of Order’ by the Chair. The AM was about poor performance of Sindh Building Control Authority.
Order and Institutionalization
- Eleven lawmakers spoke on Points of Order consuming 28 minutes of the proceedings.
- A PTI lawmaker pointed out quorum at 1718 hours which was found complete on headcount.
- The House was adjourned to meet again on May 15, 2019 (Wednesday) at 1300 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