ISLAMABAD, April 24, 2012: Starting two hours behind schedule, the second sitting of Sindh Assembly’s 35^th session, which met for three hours and 10 minutes on Tuesday, unanimously passed a Resolution demanding compensation for the families of the victims of Bhoja Air plane crash on April 20, 2012.

The sitting witnessed low attendance of Members as 72 were present at the outset and 48 were there when the sitting was adjourned.

The Protection of Religious Minorities’ Properties Bill, 2012 was introduced and sent to the respective Standing Committee for further deliberations.

All questions listed on the Agenda were taken up, and 28 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The Minister of Youth Affairs was not present in the House.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for three hours and 10 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1130 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 0930 hours. The proceedings were delayed by two hours.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting. The Deputy Speaker was not present.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of the PML (F-B), MQM, PMLF, and ANP were present while those of PML and NPP did not attend the sitting.
• Seventy-two (44% of 165) Members were present at the start while 48 (29%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Eight minority Members were present during the proceedings.

Representation and Responsiveness

• All questions on the Agenda were taken up, and 28 Supplementary Questions were also asked.
• An Adjournment Motion about increased cases of target killings in Karachi was debated for 32 minutes.

Output

• The Protection of Religious Minorities’ Properties Bill, 2012 was introduced by the House.
• The Resolution was passed regarding the Bhoja Air plane crash on 20^th April, 2012, which resulted in tragic loss of 127 lives. It demanded that the events leading to the tragedy be brought to light without delay and recommended to the Sindh government to approach the federal government for immediate measures regarding compensation to the families of the victims.

Order and Institutionalization

• A total of 12 Points of Order consumed 35 minutes of the sitting time. However none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information about Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.

 

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN