ISLAMABAD, November 14, 2016: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh adopted three supplementary resolutions paying tribute to Sufi Scholar Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, founder of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak and senior PPP lawmaker Jahangir Badar on Monday, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during first sitting of the 28th session:
Members’ Participation
- The Sindh Assembly met for four hours.
- The sitting started at 1034 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
- The proceedings were suspended for three minutes due to prayer break.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for three hours and one minute while the remaining proceedings were chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
- The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 56 minutes.
- The Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for two hours and 52 minutes.
- Forty-nine lawmakers (29%) were present at start and 56 (33%) at adjournment of the sitting.
- The Parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F and PTI were present.
- Five minority members also attended the sitting.
- Eight members applied for leave.
Output
- The House unanimously adopted three supplementary resolutions paying tribute to Sufi Scholar Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, founder of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak and deceased senior PPP lawmaker, Jahangir Badar.
- The Minister for Health introduced the Sindh Food Authority Bill, 2016 and the Sindh Livestock Breeding Bill, 2016.
- The House left two bills – the Sindh Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Societies Registration (Sindh Amendment) Bill, 2015 – unaddressed.
- The Speaker announced the Governor’s assent to five bills.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Five out of 13 Starred Questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministers. The lawmakers also asked 16 Supplementary Questions.
- The House also took up five Calling Attention Notices (CANs).
- The Members-in-Charge withdrew an Adjournment Motion and a Privilege Motion.
- The Speaker administered oath to newly-elected PPPP lawmaker Imtiyaz Shaikh.
Order and Institutionalization
- The lawmakers spoke on seven Point of Order consuming twenty minutes of the proceedings.
- A lawmaker belonging to MQM staged a walkout at 1131 hours in protest against the Chair for not allowing him to speak on Short Notice Question. However, he returned to the proceedings after 15 minutes.
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.