ISLAMABAD, March 3, 2014: The National Assembly suspended its regular agenda on Monday to discuss law and order following terrorist attack in District Courts Islamabad, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet based on direct observation of the proceedings.

The House carried a motion moved by PML-N lawmaker to debate the law and order in the federal capital after Islamabad attack in which 11 people were killed, including a judge of the lower court. Eleven lawmakers spoke on the motion for two hours and 48 minutes.

Legislators raised seven points of order consuming seven minutes of the proceedings. The House also offered prayers for the victims of the terrorist attack.

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings:

• The National Assembly met for three hours and 32 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1643 hours against the scheduled time of 1600 hours, witnessing a delay of 43 minutes.  
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and 38 minutes while a member of panel of chairpersons presided over the proceedings for 27 minutes.
• The House took prayer break of 27 minutes.
• The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for an hour and 35 minutes.
•  The parliamentary leaders of MQM, ANP, AMLP, QWP, JI, PML and PML-Z attended the sitting.
• Sixty-four members were present at the outset while 95 were there at the adjournment. A maximum of 168 members were observed to be present at one point of sitting.
• Six minority members attended the sitting.
• No member applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The House carried a motion moved by PML-N lawmaker to debate the law and order following terrorists attack in District Courts Islamabad in which 11 persons, including a judge of the lower court, were killed. Eleven lawmakers spoke on the motion for two hours and 48 minutes.

Order and Institutionalization

• Seven points of order were raised by seven lawmakers consuming seven minutes of the sitting.
• No instance of protest, walkout or boycott was witnessed during the sitting.
  

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.

 

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