ISLAMABAD, September 22, 2016: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh passed the Sindh Sacked Employees’ (Reinstatement) Bill, 2016 amid protest by the opposition parties on Thursday, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during second sitting of the 27th session:
Members’ Participation
- The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 32 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1025 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for one hour and two minutes while the remaining proceeding was chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
- The Chief Minister attended the sitting for one hour and six minutes.
- The Leader of the Opposition remained present for 28 minutes.
- Thirty-three lawmakers (20%) were present at the start and 77 (46%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The Parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F, PML-N and PTI were present.
- Five minority members also attended the sitting.
- Two members applied for leave.
Output
- Introduced by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the House passed the Sindh Sacked Employees’ (Reinstatement) Bill, 2016 amid protest.
- The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs also introduced the Sindh Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Sindh Right to Information Bill, 2016. Both the bills were referred to relevant standing committees for further deliberations.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Four out of five Starred Questions were responded to by the government. The lawmakers also asked 19 Supplementary Questions.
- A Privilege Motion moved by a PTI lawmaker against the government’s alleged lack of commitment to prevent the sale and consumption of alcohol in restaurants was not only opposed by the government but also termed by the Speaker as ‘Out of Order’. Two members spoke on the issue for 17 minutes.
- An Adjournment Motion sponsored by a PML-F lawmaker against unavailability of potable water facilities for residents of Hyderabad was opposed by the government and rejected by the Speaker.
- Three out of four Calling Attention Notices (CANs) were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministers.
Order and Institutionalization
- The lawmakers spoke on three Points of Order consuming six minutes of the proceedings.
- The opposition parties protested for one minute against immediate passage of the Sindh Sacked Employees’ (Reinstatement) Bill, 2016.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was available to observers and media.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings, conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.