ISLAMABAD, March 3, 2015: The Balochistan Assembly failed to take up any of the questions appearing on its agenda as the relevant minister did not show up for the sitting on Tuesday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started 61 minutes behind the schedule with 20 lawmakers (31%) present at the start and 45 (69%) at the time of adjournment. The Leader of the House attended the entire sitting, while the Opposition Leader was absent.

Advisor to Chief Minister on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony introduced the Balochistan Qur’an Majeed (Printing and recording) Bill 2015 which was referred to the relevant standing committee for further deliberations.

The House adopted a resolution tabled by the Minister for Revenue, Excise & Taxation and Transport to restore previous schedules of PIA flights from Quetta to Islamabad.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Balochistan Assembly met for an hour and 44 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1701 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours.
• Twenty lawmakers (31%) were present at the start of the sitting, while a maximum of 45 (69%) members were seen at the time of adjournment.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for 45 minutes, while the rest of the proceedings were presided over by a member of the Panel of Chairpersons.
• The Leader of the House attended the entire sitting, while the Opposition Leader was absent.
• The parliamentary leaders of PML-N, PML and ANP attended the sitting.
• Two minority members were present.
• Two members applied for leave.

Output

• Advisor to Chief Minister on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony introduced the Balochistan Qur’an Majeed (Printing and recording) Bill 2015 which was referred to the relevant standing committee for further deliberations.
• The House adopted a resolution tabled by the Minister for Revenue, Excise & Taxation and Transport to restore previous schedules of PIA flights from Quetta to Islamabad.

Representation and Responsiveness

• None of the five starred questions appearing on the agenda were taken up due to the absence of the Irrigation Minister.
• The House passed a motion moved by the Advisor to Chief Minister on Education to declare the Balochistan Assembly as a polling station for the upcoming Senate elections.

Order and Institutionalization

• Ten points of order consumed 45 minutes (31%) of the proceedings’ time.
• No protests/walkouts/boycotts were witnessed.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on legislators’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.

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This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Balochistan Assembly proceedings conducted by Center for Peace and Development (CPD) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.