ISLAMABAD, March 08, 2013: The 15^th sitting of National Assembly’s 50^th session, which met for an hour and eight minutes, unanimously passed the National Counter Terrorism Authority Bill 2013.

Marking the International Women’s Day, the House also unanimously adopted a resolution to pay tribute to women for their contribution in different sectors of life. The Question Hour was suspended as ten legislators spoke for 30 minutes on the women’s international day.

The sitting was marked by low attendance. Only 64 members were present at the outset, 53 at the time of adjournment, while a maximum of 100 members were present at one point of sitting.

The Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the parliamentary leaders of MQM, MMAP, ANP, PML, PMLF and BNPA did not attend the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The National Assembly met for an hour and eight minutes.
• The sitting started at 1147 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1100 hours, witnessing a delay of 47 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting.
• The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.

• The parliamentary leaders of only PPPS and NPP attended the sitting whereas those of MQM, MMAP, ANP, PML, PMLF and BNPA were absent.

• The chief whip of PPPP attended the sitting whereas those of PMLN, MQM, MMAP, PMLF, ANP, PML and BNPA were not present.
• Sixty-four members were present at the outset while 53 were present at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 100 members were present at one point of sitting.
• Seven minority members attended the sitting.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The Questions Hour was suspended to debate the International Women’s Day. Ten members, including Speaker, deliberated on the issue for 30 minutes.

Output

• The National Counter Terrorism Authority Bill 2013 passed unanimously.
• Marking the International Women’s Day, the House unanimously adopted a resolution to pay tribute to women for their contribution in the country.
• A report on the Surveying and Mapping Bill 2013 was presented by the Standing Committee on Defence.

Order and Institutionalization

• A point of order consumed three minutes of the sitting time.
• A PMLN member walked off the House when he pointed out the quorum but was ignored by the Speaker. He walked out of the House at 1155 hours and did not return.

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 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