ISLAMABAD, March 20, 2012: Starting 45 minutes behind schedule, the Joint Sitting of the Parliament met for an hour and two minutes.

A total of 172 (combined of both the Houses) Members were present at the start while 185 were there when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum of 207 Members were present during a point of the sitting.

The report of the parliamentary committee on national security was presented to the Parliament. Six Members spoke on the subject for 52 minutes

The Chairman Senate chaired the sitting as the Speaker of the Lower House was absent.

The Prime Minister attended the sitting for 36 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 57 minutes.

The Parliamentary Leaders of the NPP, MQM, PPPS and ANP attended the proceedings.

Members’ participation in House proceedings

• The Joint Sitting met for an hour and two minutes.
• The sitting started at 1145 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1100 hours. The proceedings started late by 45 minutes.
• The Chairman Senate chaired the entire sitting.
• The Prime Minister attended the sitting for 36 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition was present for 57 minutes.
• The Parliamentary Leaders of the NPP, MQM, PPPS and ANP were present while those of the PML, PMLF, BNPA and MMAP were absent.
• The Chief Whips of PMLN, NPP, PPPP, MQM, PPPS, ANP, PML and PMLF were present.
• A total of 172 Legislators (including Senators) were present at the start and 185 at the end of the sitting. A maximum of 207 Members were present during a point of the sitting.

Representation and Responsiveness

• No Calling Attention Notices appeared on the Orders of the Day.
• A report of the parliamentary committee on national security was presented to the House.

Output

• No Bills were taken up during the sitting.

Order and institutionalization

• No Points of Order were raised during the sitting.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.

 

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), a Member organization of FAFEN.