KP Assembly Suspends Rules to Adopt Four Resolutions

ISLAMABAD, September 24, 2019: The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) adopted four supplementary resolutions after suspending the Rules of Procedure, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Tuesday.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings during seventh sitting of eighth session:

Members’ Participation

  • The Assembly met for four hours and 19 minutes while the proceedings remained suspended for 40 minutes due to prayer break.
  • The sitting started at 1111 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
  • A member of Panel of Chairpersons presided over the entire sitting in the absence of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
  • The Leader of the House did not attend the sitting.
  • The Leader of Opposition attended the entire proceedings.
  • Fifty-nine legislators (41%) were present at the outset and 29 (20%) at the end of the sitting.
  • The parliamentary leaders of MMAP and ANP attended the proceedings.
  • Three out of four minority lawmakers were present.

Output                                             

  • Minister for Food introduced the KP Journalist Welfare Endowment Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the House.
  • The House adopted four supplementary resolutions which demanded to merge the services of staff at MPAs hostel with Assembly Secretariat, ensure basic facilities to the prisoners, ban porn websites as well as games and organize sale of wheat in the province. These resolutions were sponsored by MMAP and PTI lawmakers.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • The House took up one out of 15 starred questions. In addition, the lawmakers asked 15 supplementary questions.
  • Ministers for Food and Minerals responded to two Calling Attention Notices (CANs). These notices were about the provision of basic educational facilities at Doctor Khan Shaheed Degree College Swat and neglecting local people during recruitment process at educational institutions in Swat (PK-03). These CANs were raised by ANP and PML-N lawmakers respectively.
  •  Sponsored by MMAP lawmakers, the Chair admitted an adjournment Motion for debate which was regarding outbreak of dengue in the country.
  • The House debated damages caused by recent rains and floods in the province.  As many as 10 lawmakers – MMAP (three), PML-N, PTI and PPPP (two each), and ANP (one) – participated in debate consuming an hour and 40 minutes of the proceedings.

Order and Institutionalization

  • As many as six lawmakers spoke on Points of Order consuming 15 minutes of the proceedings.
  • A PML-N lawmaker walked out from the proceedings at 1245 hours over unsatisfactory reply to his CAN. He did not return to the House till adjournment of the sitting.
  • The House was adjourned to meet again on September 27, 2019 (Friday) at 1030 hours.

 Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
  • The attendance of lawmakers was not available to the observers and media.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the KP Assembly proceeding conducted by United Rural Development Organization (URDO) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted