ISLAMABAD, October 20, 2014: Starting 63 minutes behind the schedule, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to congratulate Malala Yousufzai for winning Noble Peace Prize during the first sitting of 15^th session on Monday, says the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Tabled by the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the House took up a motion under Rule 259 and condemned the Indian aggression across the Line of Control (LoC) and working boundary. Eight lawmakers – PML-N (4), one each of PPPP, MQM, JI and an Independent lawmaker – participated in the debate that continued for 55 minutes.

The House took up two calling attention notices (CANs) – the first regarding poor conditions of the Federal Government Services Hospital (Polyclinic) and the second about resurgence of polio virus in the country affecting more than 200 children in a year resulting into imposition of international sanctions on Pakistan.

The MQM lawmakers staged a walkout over the remarks of the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly against Muhajir community.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings:

• The National Assembly met for two hours and 37 minutes.
• The sitting began at 1703 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours witnessing a delay of an hour and three minutes.
• The House availed a prayer break for 26 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting while the Deputy Speaker was also present.
• The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 75 minutes.
• Sixty-three lawmakers (18%) were present at the outset while 51 (15%) at the adjournment of the sitting. A maximum of 116 members (34%) were observed to be present at one point during the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PkMAP, MQM, AMLP, JI and APML attended the sitting.
• Six minority members attended the sitting.
• Seventeen lawmakers applied for leave.

Output

• Tabled by the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan, the House unanimously adopted a resolution to congratulate Malala Yousafzai for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

• The Minister for Science and Technology presented five reports including the annual report of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on the Statement of Accounts of SECP certified by the auditors for the year ended on June 30, 2013, the second biannual monitoring report on the implementation of National Finance Commission (NFC) Award (January-June, 2013), the third quarterly report for 2013-14 of the Central Board of Directors of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on the State of Pakistan’s economy, the annual report of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for 2013 and the report on Observance and Implementation of Principles of Policy in Relation to the Affairs of the Federation for 2011-12.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Tabled by the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the House took up a motion under Rule 259 and condemned the Indian aggression across the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary.
• Eight lawmakers – PML-N (4), one each of PPPP, MQM, JI and an independent lawmaker – debated that motion that continued for 55 minutes.
• The House took up two calling attention notices (CANs) – the first CAN was regarding poor conditions of the Federal Government Services Hospital (Polyclinic) and the second about resurgence of polio virus in the country affecting more than 200 children in a year resulting into imposition of international sanctions on Pakistan.

• The House took up four of 14 questions (requiring oral as well as written replies) while the members asked four supplementary questions as well.

Order and Institutionalization

• The MQM lawmakers staged a walkout over the remarks of the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly against Muhajirs.
• Ten points of order consumed 20 minutes of the proceedings’ time.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on members’ attendance was not available to observers and the public.
• The Quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the legislators.

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This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI); a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions excepted