ISLAMABAD, March 1, 2019: The Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday condemning Indian aggression across the Line of Control (LoC) while reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to peaceful solution of disputes and calling for Indian Parliament to play its role in de-escalation efforts, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Key observations of the proceeding during second (last) sitting of the Joint Session of Parliament include the following:

Members’ Participation

• The Joint Sitting continued for two hours and 39 minutes.
• The proceedings commenced at 1034 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
• The Speaker of the National Assembly presided over the entire sitting while the Deputy Speaker was also present.
• The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Senate attended the entire sitting.
• The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) did not attend the sitting.
• The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly was present for an hour and 40 minutes.
• The Leaders of the House and the  Opposition in Senate attended the entire sitting.
• As many as 36 parliamentarians (8% of total membership of the Parliament – 446) were present at outset and 110 (25%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of JUI-F, PkMAP, PTI, PML-N, ANP, PPPP and MQM in the Senate were present.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MMAP, GDA, BAP and PML-N in National Assembly were present.

Output

• Tabled by the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, the House unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Indian aggression against Pakistan, lauding Pakistan’s Armed Forces, reaffirming its commitment to just and peaceful solution of Kashmir issue, expressing concerns on Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) invitation to Indian External Affairs Minister and urging the Indian Parliament to support Pakistan’s call for de-escalation and dialogue. 

Representation and Responsiveness 

• As many as 14 lawmakers participated in the discussion on the external to against Pakistan by India. The discussion continued for two hours and 24 minutes.

Transparency

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

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