ISLAMABAD, August 12, 2013: The Punjab Assembly suspended routine agenda to continue debate on the local government system in the first sitting of its fourth session on Monday. At least 12 members took part in the debate.

The Speaker chaired the two hours and 32 minute sitting. The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the proceedings.

There were 143 members at the beginning, 33 at the end and a maximum 155 at a point during the sitting.

The House unanimously adopted two resolutions to condemn the suicide attack at a funeral in Quetta killing more than 30 people including policemen, and the recent Indian aggression on the Line of Control. Both resolutions were tabled by the Minister for Law.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for two hours and 32 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1650 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1500 hours witnessing a delay of an hour and 50 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the whole sitting.
• A total of 143 members were present at the beginning, 33 at the end and a maximum 155 at a point during the sitting.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• Four minority Members were present.
• None of the Members applied for leave.
  

Output:

• The House unanimously adopted two resolution tabled by the Law Minister to condemn the recent suicide attack in Quetta and the Indian aggression on the Line of Control.

Representation and Responsiveness

·         Twelve MPAs debated the bill on the new local government system.

Transparency

·         Members’ attendance was documented.

• Information on Members’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.

 The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN, a member organization of FAFEN