ISLAMABAD, May 3, 2019: The Senate adopted a resolution on Friday reaffirming its commitment to the freedom of press and paying tribute to journalists risking their lives in defense of public’s right to know, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during sixth sitting of 288^th session:

  Members’ Participation

• The House met for two hours and 11 minutes.
• The sitting started at the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
• The Chairman presided over the entire sitting.
• The Deputy Chairman was not present.
• The Leader of the House was present for an hour and 39 minutes.
• The Leader of the Opposition was not present.
• The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting.
• As many as 13 lawmakers (12%) were present at the outset and 21 (20%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, PTI, PkMAP, JI and ANP attended the sitting.
• Three out of four minority lawmakers were present.

Output

• Moved by the Leader of the House on behalf of lawmakers from treasury and opposition benches, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming its commitment to the freedom of press and expression and saluting the media martyrs who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

  Representation and Responsiveness 

• The Chair deferred the Calling Attention Notices (CAN) inviting the government’s attention to the Prime Minister’s statement on terrorism during his visit to Tehran and an increase in the prices of imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
• The Chair deferred the debate on an Adjournment Motion regarding delay in announcement of NFC award till May 7, 2019.
• The House took up 12 out of 47 Starred Questions while two of these were referred to the relevant standing committees for further deliberations. The lawmakers also asked 29 supplementary questions.
• The House adopted seven motions under Rule 194 (1) granting extension to the Senate Standing Committees on Law and Justice, and National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination for presentation of their reports on the matters referred to them.

 Order and Institutionalization 

• The House was adjourned to meet again on May 6, 2019 (Monday) at 1400 hours.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
• The attendance of lawmakers is available on the website.

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