Balochistan Assembly Adopts Two Resolutions

ISLAMABAD, January 7, 2017: The Balochistan Assembly adopted two resolutions and consumed 38% of the proceedings time on Points of Order, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Saturday.

Following are key observations of the second sitting of 36th session:

Members’ Participation

  • The Balochistan Assembly met for two hours and five minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1535 hours against the scheduled time of 1500 hours.
  • The Speaker presided over the entire sitting.
  • The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
  • Twelve lawmakers (18%) were present at the start and 10 (15%) at the adjournment of sitting.
  • Parliamentary leaders of MWM, PkMAP, and PML were present.
  • Two minority members attended the sitting.
  • Eight members applied for leave.

Output

  • Tabled by a PkMAP lawmaker, the House adopted a resolution to condemn killings of Muslims in Myanmar and demanded the federal government to highlight this issue at international fora. Five lawmakers spoke on it for 38 minutes.
  • Tabled by Provincial Minister for Education, the House adopted a resolution to ensure sale and purchase of mobile phones through their original invoices and CNICs’ photocopies of those making any such deals. Three lawmakers debated this resolution for 14 minutes.

Order and Institutionalization

  • The lawmakers spoke on 14 Points of Order, consuming 48 minutes (38%) of the proceedings.

Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
  • Attendance of Members was not made public.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Balochistan Assembly proceedings conducted by Center for Peace and Development (CPD) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.