ISLAMABAD, June 7, 2021: The National Assembly passed ten government bills and discussed incident of a train crash in Ghotki resulting deaths of more than 40 persons and injuries to several others, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Monday.

Following are key observations of the proceedings during the first sitting of 34th session:

Members’ Participation

• The National Assembly met three hours and one minute.
• The sitting started at 05:49 pm against the scheduled time of 05:00 pm.
• The deputy speaker presided over the entire sitting in the absence of speaker.
• The leaders of the House (Prime Minister) and the opposition did not attend the sitting.
• As many as 89 (26%) lawmakers were present at the outset and 61 (18%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
• The parliamentary leader of PPPP, MQM and MMAP attended the sitting.
• Six minority lawmakers were present.

 Output

• The House passed ten government bills which were the University of Islamabad Bill, 2020; the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes (Amendment) Bill, 2019; the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the National College of Arts Institute Bill, 2020; the Protection of Communal Properties of Minorities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Islamabad Capital Territory Charities Registration, Regulation and Facilitation Bill, 2020; the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Hyderabad Institute for Technical and Management Sciences Bill, 2021;.
• Two ordinances including the Elections (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 and the Protection of Parents Ordinance, 2021 were laid in the House.
• Minister for Human Rights introduced the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was referred to the relevant committee for deliberation.
• Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Babar Awan introduced the Islamabad Healthcare Facilities Management Authority Bill, 2021. It was also referred to the relevant committee for further deliberation.
• On behalf of Chairman Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, a member of the committee presented the report on the Federal Medical Teaching Institutes Bill, 2020.
• The House deferred three other bills including the Constitution (twenty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Amendment in Article 51) and the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Amendment in Article 48).

 Representation and Responsiveness

• The Chair referred a calling attention notice (CAN) to the committee which was regarding impact of COVID-19 on business community across the country.
• The House did not consider another CAN, a statutory report and a motion of thanks to the President.

Order and Institutionalization

• Seven lawmakers spoke on points of order for 50 minutes mainly related to collision between two trains in Ghotki.
• Two lawmakers belonging to PML-N and MMAP pointed out the quorum at 06:50 pm and 07:36 pm, respectively but it was found complete upon counting on both occasions.
• A PPPP lawmaker pointed out the quorum at 08:31 pm. It was found incomplete upon counting and the proceedings remained suspended for 13 minutes.
• The opposition lawmakers staged walk out of the House on three occasions soon after the quorum was pointed out. These walkouts continued for a total of 34 minutes.
• The House was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 05:00 pm.

 Transparency

• Orders of the Day was available to legislators, observers and public.
• Attendance of lawmakers was available to media and observers.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted