ISLAMABAD, February 15, 2012: Starting an hour and 28 minutes behind schedule, the second sitting of the Sindh Assembly met for three hours and 32 minutes, witnessing low attendance of Members – 53 were present at the outset and 54 at the end.

A Resolution calling on the federal government for an enacting of a law about the Drugs Regulatory Authority was adopted by the House.

The Domestic Violence against Women and Children (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2008 was deferred.

Five out of nine questions were taken up and responded to by the relevant minister. Thirty supplementary questions were raised during the sitting.

Members raised 35 Points of Order which consumed 72 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 50 minutes.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for three hours and 28 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1128 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and 28 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 50 minutes.
• All the parliamentary leaders were present during the sitting.
• Fifty-three Members (32% of the total Membership) were present at the start while 54 (33%) were there when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum of 82 members were present at any point of the sitting.
• Four Minority Members were present during the sitting.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Five out of nine questions were put up and responded to by the relevant minister.
• Thirty supplementary questions were raised during the sitting.
  

Output

• The Domestic Violence against Women and Children (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2008 was deferred.
• A Resolution calling on the federal government for an enactment of a law – the Drugs Regulatory Authority –was adopted by the House.

Order and Institutionalization

• A total of 35 Points of Order were raised that consumed 72 minutes. However, none of the Points of Order raised attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on 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