ISLAMABAD, August 16, 2013:  The first sitting of Balochistan Assembly’s fifth session offered condolences and paid tributes to a National Party MPA who died on August 13.

Thirty-two MPAs attended the sitting, which met for 23 minutes.

After offering Fateha, the members expressed their views about the late MPA, recounting his political and public services.

The Speaker chaired the sitting. The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting while the parliamentary leaders of ANP and PML were present.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ participation in House proceedings

• The Balochistan Assembly met for 23 minutes.
• The sitting started at  1635 hours against the scheduled starting time of  1600 hours, witnessing the delay of  35 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of ANP and PML were present.
• Two minority members attended the sitting.
• None of the members applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• As per the Chair’s directive,  the MPAs spoke on points of order (11) to pay tribute to the late MPA Mir Muhammad Azeem Buledi of NP. The points of order consumed the entire sitting’s duration.

Order and Institutionalization

• No protests/boycotts or walkouts were documented during the sitting.

Transparency

• List of Business was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.

 

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Balochistan Assembly proceedings conducted by Center for Peace and Development (CPD), a Member organization of FAFEN.