ISLAMABAD, April 27, 2018: The Sindh Assembly on Friday deferred a bill and five Call Attention Notices appearing on the agenda, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.
Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 12th sitting of the 39th session:
Members’ Participation
- The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 54 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1605 hours against the scheduled time of 1500 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the entire sitting while the Deputy Speaker was not present.
- The Leader of the House (Chief Minister) and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- As many as 38 (22%) lawmakers were present at the outset and 39 (23%) at the adjournment of sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F, PML-N and PTI attended the sitting.
- As many as five minority lawmakers were also present.
- Six lawmakers applied for leave of absence.
Output
- Minister for Parliamentary Affairs moved the Sindh Institute of Animal Health at Karachi Bill, 2017 which was passed by the House.
- Another bill – the Sindh Development and Maintenance of Infrastructure Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2017 – was deferred till next sitting.
Representation and Responsiveness
- The House took up three out of eight Call Attention Notices which were regarding non-provision of water in various areas of Hyderabad, shortage of medicines in Sindh Government Hospitals and non-availability of water in canals in District Sangher during sowing season of cotton crop.
- The House took up three out of four Starred Questions during the Question Hour. The lawmakers asked 23 supplementary questions as well.
- The House did not take up PML-F lawmaker’s Adjournment Motion due to her absence.
- The House passed a Censure Motion against PTI lawmaker for his misconduct with the Speaker.
Order and Institutionalization
- A lawmaker raised a Point of Order consuming three minutes of the proceedings.
- A PTI lawmaker protested on floor of the House for three minutes and later staged a walkout at 1728 hours when the Chair did not allow him to speak on his Call Attention Notice. He did not return to the House till adjournment of the sitting at 1859 hours.
- The House was adjourned to meet again on Monday, April 30, 2018 at 1500 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 Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation, a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted