ISLAMABAD, November 28: Reasonable student to teacher ratios were observed in 103 out of 147 state-run girls’ primary schools monitored nationwide in October but continue to lack essential facilities, according to a report released by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Monday.
ISLAMABAD, November 28, 2011: Incidents of violence, low turnout, suspicious voting patterns at six booths of five polling stations and procedural irregularities marked the by-election for the PP-275 constituency, Bahawalpur-IX, according to a preliminary observation report issued by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
ISLAMABAD, November 27: A Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report on Sunday said monitoring of 129 police stations from July to September 2011 this year across Pakistan showed misuse of authority and cases of graft denting public trust in police. The report said a large number of police stations were not providing services perhaps due to low, and in some cases, non-existent official oversight mechanisms.
ISLAMABAD, November 25, 2011: The National Assembly passed the two Bills which appeared on the Orders of the Day during the last sitting of the 36th session. Spread over two hours and five minutes, the last sitting was also marked by low attendance of Members, with only 27 Legislators present at the outset, and 58 present when the session prorogued.
ISLAMABAD, November 25, 2011: According to the preliminary election observation report of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), no female voters were seen on Election Day in PK-61 (Kohistan-I), reportedly due to an informal agreement among political parties to prevent women from exercising their right to vote.
ISLAMABAD, November 24, 2011: The National Assembly met for three hours and 25 minutes during the ninth sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The sitting witnessed low attendance of Members, with only 38 Parliamentarians present at the start, while 64 were present when the sitting was adjourned. The Quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, the lack of it was not pointed out by any of the Members.
ISLAMABAD, November 23, 2011: The National Assembly met for two hours and 57 minutes during the eighth sitting of the ongoing 36th session. The sitting witnessed low attendance of Members, with only 24 Legislators were present at the start, while 64 were present when the sitting was adjourned.
ISLAMABAD, November 22, 2011: The National Assembly met for two hours and 20 minutes during the seventh sitting of the 36th session. Only the parliamentary leader of the PPPS attended the proceedings. The issue of Members’ low attendance persisted during this sitting as well. Only 32 Legislators were present at the start, while 85 were present when the sitting was adjourned.
ISLAMABAD, November 22, 2011: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take pro-active measures against any informal agreements among candidates and other local stakeholders to prevent women from voting in the by-election for PK-61 Kohistan-1 in violation of the Constitution, election laws, and international legal obligations.
ISLAMABAD, November 21, 2011: The National Assembly did not take up the National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2011 during the sixth sitting, which lasted two hours and five minutes. The sitting was marked by low attendance, with only 31 Legislators present at