ISLAMABAD, August 10, 2015: The Balochistan Assembly witnessed introduction of two bills and adoption of three resolutions during the second sitting of its 20^th session on Monday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The sitting started 52 minutes behind the schedule with 26 lawmakers (40%) present at the start and 13 (20%) at the time of adjournment.

Provincial Minister for Interior and Tribal Affairs introduced the Balochistan Hotels Restriction (Security) Bill 2015, and the Balochistan Rented Building Restriction (Security) Bill 2015.

The House adopted three resolutions; urging the government to take action against MQM’s Chief for his objectionable speeches under Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan, authorizing parliament to amend Marriage Act 1872 and Divorce Act 1862 for Christian community.

The House could not take up any of the question on its agenda as the relevant minister was not present for the sitting.

Some key observations of the assembly proceedings are as follows:

 Members’ Participation in the House

• The Balochistan Assembly met for two hours and 40 minutes
• The sitting started at 1652 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours
• 26 lawmakers (40%) were present at the outset and 13 (20%) at the time of adjournment
• A maximum of 33 (51%) members attended the sitting
• The entire sitting was chaired by the Deputy Speaker
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of Opposition did not attend the sitting
• The parliamentary leaders of MWM and PkMAP were present
• Two minority members attended the sitting
• Six members applied for leave

Output

• Provincial Minister for Interior and Tribal Affairs introduced the Balochistan Hotels Restriction (Security) Bill 2015 and the Balochistan Rented Building Restriction (Security) Bill 2015.
• The House adopted three resolutions; urging the government to take action against MQM’s Chief for his objectionable speeches under Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan, authorizing parliament to amend Marriage Act 1872 and Divorce Act 1862 for Christian community.

 Representation and Responsiveness

•  The question hour was not held due to absence of the relevant minister
• A PkMAP lawmaker discussed an Adjournment Motion (AM) for 14 minutes on demolition of slum area in sector I-11, Islamabad

 Order and Institutionalization

• Twelve Points of Order consumed 40 minutes of the sitting
• JUI-F female lawmaker pointed out the quorum at 1927 hours which was followed by Chair’s announcement to adjourn the session due to less than 25% presence of lawmakers

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others
• Information on legislators’ attendance was not available to the observers and public

To download the factsheet, click here

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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