ISLAMABAD, December 10, 2014: The Sindh Assembly passed five bills and adopted eight resolutions during the second (last) sitting of its 17th session as low attendance of lawmakers prevailed, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its daily factsheet.

The House passed five bills tabled by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and referred three bills introduced earlier to the relevant standing committees. Another bill was also introduced by the same minister. All the bills were passed in the absence of MQM, PML-F and PML-N as they walked out of the House.

The House unanimously adopted eight resolutions – five sponsored by PPPP, two by MQM and one by PML-F. Four resolutions paid tribute to Sindhi writer and social scientist Sobho Gianchandani who passed away on December 8.

MQM lawmakers staged a walkout for an hour and 36 minutes against the killing of their party worker in Sialkot, while PML-F and PML-N walked out of the House for an hour and three minutes against the alleged dictatorial way in which the business of the House was being run.

Low attendance prevailed as 27 members (16%) were present at the start and 33 (20%) at the end of the sitting. The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the members. The Leader of the House did not attend the sitting while the Opposition Leader was present for four hours and 20 minutes.

The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for three hours and 11 minutes while the remaining time was chaired by a member of the Panel of Chairpersons.

Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for four hours and 39 minutes. The House took a three-minute break for prayer call.
• The sitting started at 1049 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours, witnessing a delay of 49 minutes.
• The Speaker was absent while the Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for three hours and 11 minutes. The remaining time was chaired by a member of the Panel of Chairpersons.
• The Leader of the House did not attend the sitting while the Opposition Leader was present for four hours and 20 minutes.
• Twenty-seven members (16%) were present at the start and 33 (20%) at the end of the sitting. A maximum of 70 members were observed to be present at one point of the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP and MQM attended the sitting.
• Four minority members were present in the sitting.
• One member applied for leave. 

Output

• The House passed five bills namely the Sindh Public Private Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2014, the Larkana Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2014, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (Sindh Administration) Bill 2014, the Sindh Employees Old-Age Benefit Bill 2014 and the Sindh Education Standards and Curriculum Bill 2014.
• The House introduced the Sindh Allied Health Professional Council Bill 2014 and referred three other bills to the relevant standing committees.
• The House unanimously adopted eight resolutions – five sponsored by PPPP, two by MQM and one by PML-F. Four resolutions paid tribute to Sindhi writer and social scientist Sobho Gianchandani who passed away on December 8. One of the MQM-sponsored resolutions requested the Punjab government to arrest the killers of a party worker in Sialkot, while the other condemned the killing of political workers on International Human Rights Day.
• A PPPP-backed resolution condemned the finding of mutilated bodies while another resolution acknowledged World Human Rights Day.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Ten out of 19 starred questions (requiring oral replies) appearing on the Orders of the Day were taken up and responded by the relevant ministry. In addition, 31 supplementary questions were raised by the MPAs.
• An MQM member tabled an adjournment motion against ghost teachers in Sindh. However, the motion was later withdrawn by the mover.

Order and Institutionalization

• Members spoke on 12 points of orders which consumed 30 minutes of the proceedings.
• MQM lawmakers staged a walkout for an hour and 36 minutes against the killing of their party worker in Sialkot. PML-F and PML-N also walked out of the House for an hour and three minutes to protest the alleged dictatorial ways in which the business of the House was being run.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the members, observers and others.
• Information on members’ attendance was available to observers and the public.
• The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the members.

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The daily factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN.