• 49% female, 42% male legislators register participation
• 38% time spent on debate on adjournment motions and Points of Order
• NA remained in Session for over 44 hours, each sitting started late by 44 minutes
• PM attends 87%, Leader of the Opposition shows up in 60% sittings
• PMLN boycotts last one and half sittings
• MMA, PML and PMLN MNAs remained more active

ISLAMABAD, October 8, 2010:  A total of 148 Members (43% of the total NA strength) of National Assembly took part, in one form or other, in the proceedings of 25th Session of the National Assembly, which concluded here Friday. Almost half of the female parliamentarians and 42% male Members registered their participation in this 15-sitting long regular Session.

A total of 60 Members submitted some agenda item in the form of a question, calling attention notice, resolution or legislation etc, on Orders of the Day. Out of these 60 Members who submitted agenda,16 did not participate in on-the-floor parliamentary discussions while remaining 44 spoke on the agenda items. A total of 88 other Members, actively took part in the debates taking place on the floor of the House during the Session despite the fact that they had not contributed to any agenda submission. Out of the 148 Members taking part in the proceedings, 111 (42% of the total male Members) were male while 37 (49% of total female parliamentarians) were female parliamentarians.

The PPPP’s 36% MNAs, the PMLN’s 50%, the PML’s 54%, the MQM’s 48%, the ANP’s 31%, the MMAP’s 57%, and the PMLF’s 20%legislators participated in 25th Session. As many as 29% independent Members along with Members of one-Member parties like PPPS, NPP and BNPA also participated during the Session.

A total of 12 Government Bills were introduced before the House out of which six were passed during the Session. Three other government Bills were introduced and sent to the respective Standing Committees, while three Bills were not taken up by the House. All the government Bills’ movers were individual male Members of the PPPP. The House took up seven out of nine Private Members’ Bills. One Private Member Bill was rejected; one was taken back by the prime mover, while the other was not taken up by the House. The remaining four Bills were sent to respective Standing Committees. There were 13 Standing Committee reports on the Orders of the Day. A total of 12 reports were presented during the 25thSession, while a report of Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, Zakat and Ushr was not presented before the House.

As many as five resolutions were moved before the house which were taken up and subsequently passed by the House during the 25thSession of the National Assembly.  As many as 103 minutes were spent on deliberations over these resolutions.

A total of 258 minutes (10% time of total Session hours) were consumed by debates and deliberations over two admitted adjournment motions namely “non-release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui” and the “incursion of ISAF forces in Pakistan”. Besides these issues, another Adjournment Motion was moved regarding the “kidnapping and torturing of a journalist, Omer Cheema by the security agencies” but was not taken up by the House. A total of 11 Members of the PMLN, three of the PML, two each of the PPPP and MQM spoke on the issue of Dr. Aafia Siddique for a total of 159 minutes. As many as four Member of the PMLN, three of the MQM, two of the PPPP and one each of the PPPS and the PML spoke on the incursion of the ISAF forces into Pakistan.

A total of 237 Points of Order were raised during the Session which utilized 735 minutes (28%). However, none of the Points of Orders raised by Members attracted Speaker’s ruling. There were six instances of walkouts during the 25thSession, while the Parliamentary Party of PMLN boycotted the 25thSession proceeding during the 14th sitting.

The National Assembly remained in business for 44 hours and 11 minutes in 15 sittings for regular parliamentary business. Each of the sitting started later than the stipulated time, beginning with an average delay of 44 minutes. On average 57 Members were present at the onset of each sitting, while 59 Members at the end. The Prime Minister maintained his tradition of attending most of the sittings attending 13 out of 15 sittings, while the Leader of the Opposition attended nine out of 15 sittings. The Speaker was present during 12 out of 15 sittings, while the Deputy Speaker was present during 10 out of 15 sittings. The Parliamentary Leader of the MMAP was present during seven out 15 (47%) sittings. The PPPS Parliamentary Leader attended six out of 15 (40%) sittings, while the Leader of PML remained present in five out 15 (33%) sittings. The Parliamentary Leader of MQM was present during one out 15 (6%) sittings. The Parliamentary Leaders of the ANP and PMLF did not attend the entire 25thSession.

About FAFEN: FAFEN is a network of 42 civil society organizations working to foster democratic accountabilities in Pakistan. It is governed by Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability.