ISLAMABAD, March 6, 2012: The first sitting of Senate’s 79^th session lasted three hours and 30 minutes adopted a Resolution condemning the incident of Quran burning by US troops in Afghanistan. 

Beginning 50 minutes late, the Upper House witnessed low attendance of Senators with 18 present at the outset of the sitting while 38 at the end.

The 26 retiring Members of the Senate made farewell speeches.

The Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition remained present throughout the sitting.  

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Senate met for three hours and 30 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1650 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours. The House proceedings started late by 50 minutes.
• The Chairman chaired the sitting.
• The Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition remained present throughout the sitting.
• The Parliamentary Leaders of the PMLN, PML, ANP, MQM, PKMAP, NP, PPPS, JI and BNPA attended the sitting, while the leaders of the JWP and PMLF were absent.
• Eighteen Senators (18 % of total Membership) were present at the start, while 38 (38%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
• The House took a 48-minute break on account of prayers.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• The Question Hour was not held during the sitting.
  

Output

• A Resolution condemning incident of Quran burning by US troops in Afghanistan was unanimously adopted by the House.
  

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 the Senate proceedings conducted by Center for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), a member organization of FAFEN