ISLAMABAD, September 24, 2013: The National Assembly continued to debate the twin suicide blasts on a church in Peshawar during the seventh sitting of the fifth session on Tuesday.

The House debated the motion under rule 259, which was moved by Minister for Science and Technology on September 23, for five hours and three minutes.

Thirty-three legislators from the treasury and opposition benches shared their views and strongly condemned the attack.

The Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and 28 minutes while the remaining proceedings were chaired by a member of the Panel of Chairpersons. The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting, while the Leader of the Opposition attended it for 30 minutes. The parliamentary leaders of JI and PkMAP were present.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The National Assembly met for five hours and 57 minutes observing a 30-minute prayer break.
• The sitting started at 1043 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1030 hours, a delay of 13 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and 28 minutes while a member of the Panel of Chairpersons attended the remaining proceedings.
• The Prime Minister did not attend the proceedings while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 30 minutes.
•  The parliamentary leaders of JI and PkMAP were present.
• Forty-one members were present at the outset while 22 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 145 members were present at one point of sitting.
• Eight minority members attended the sitting.
• Twenty-six members applied for leave. 

Representation and Responsiveness

• Thirty-three MNAs spoke on Sunday’s suicide bombing in Peshawar for 303 minutes following a motion moved under rule 259.

Order and Institutionalization

• MNAs spoke on five points of order for eight minutes.

 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.

Disclaimer: 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.