ISLAMABAD, September 27, 2021: The Senate passed four private members’ bills and referred 12 bills to the relevant committees after their introduction in the House, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Monday.

Following are key observations of the proceedings during the second sitting of 314th session:

Members’ Participation

• The Senate met for three hours and 51 minutes; however, the proceedings remained suspended for ten minutes due to prayer break.
• The sitting started at 03:32 pm against the scheduled time of 03:30 pm.
• The Chairman presided over the entire proceedings.
• The Deputy Chairman was also present.
• The leader of the house attended the entire sitting.
• The opposition leader was present for an hour and 53 minutes.
• As many as 19 lawmakers (19%) were present at the outset and 22 (22%) at the adjournment of sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, JI and PKMAP attended the sitting.
• Two out of four minority lawmaker were present.

Output

• The House passed four private members’ bills which included the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the National Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Ibadat International University Islamabad Bill, 2021 and the Islamabad Women University Islamabad Bill, 2021.
• The House witnessed introduction of ten private members’ bills which were referred to the relevant committees for further consideration. These bills were the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021] (Insertion of Article 25B); the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment of Section 195); the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment of Section 510); the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment of Articles 63A, 64 and 160); the Trade Organizations (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Omission of Section 325 of PPC and amendment of Schedule II of the Cr. PC); the Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2021; the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
• Three bills on the agenda were deferred after the consent of movers which were the Establishment of the Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021] (Amendment of Articles 111, 140, 260 and 275) and the the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
• The House considered two government bills as supplementary agenda which were referred to the relevant committees. These bills were the Special Technology Zones Authority Bill, 2021 and the PAF Air War College Institute Bill, 2021.
• Tabled by a PTI lawmaker, the House adopted a resolution recommending all federal ministries/divisions and their attached departments to launch job portals on their respective websites for transparency in recruitment process.
• Four other resolutions on the agenda were deferred after the consent of their movers.
• The House passed two motions under Rule 126 (7) for consideration of the Exit from Pakistan (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Maintenance and Welfare of Old Parents and Senior Citizens Bill, 2020 in the joint sitting of Parliament.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Eleven lawmakers, Minister for energy and Minister of state for parliamentary affairs discussed three motions under Rule 218 for two hours and five minutes. These motions were regarding damage caused to lives and property due to torrential rains in Islamabad; sacking of thousands of employees after decision of Supreme Court and recent rise in petroleum prices causing inflation.
• Two other motions under Rule 218 were deferred.

Order and Institutionalization 

• A lawmaker spoke on a point of order for four minutes.
• The House was adjourned to meet again on September 29, 2021 (Wednesday) at 03:30 pm.

 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 Senate proceedings conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted