ISLAMABAD, February 25, 2013: The sixth sitting of Senate’s 91^st session witnessed passage of three private members’ bills amid low attendance of Senators. Six were present at outset and 26 at the adjournment whereas a maximum of 36 Senators was observed at one time.

The Chairman, the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting while only the parliamentary leaders of MQM and NP attended the proceedings. The Chairman presided over the sitting.

Three private members’ Bills – the Dar-ul-Madina International University Islamabad Bill 2013, the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute University Islamabad Bill 2013 and The MY University Islamabad Bill 2013 were unanimously passed.

A privilege motion was moved by a PPPP Senator over the non-cooperation by the officials of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency with Senate Functional Committee on Government Assurances.

A 15-minute walkout was staged by MQM senators over the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• Senate met for an hour and 51 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1702 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours, witnessing a delay of an hour and two minutes.
• The Chairman chaired the sitting.
• The Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of MQM and NP were present whereas those of PML, PMLF, JIUF, BNPA and ANP did not attend the sitting.
• Six senators were present at the outset while 26 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 32 senators were present at one point of sitting.

• Two minority Senators attended the sitting.
• Eleven Senators applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Moved by an MQM Senator, the House discussed the existing public transport system in Islamabad Capital Territory under Rule 218.
• A privilege motion was moved by a PPPP Senator over the non-cooperation by the officials of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency with Senate Functional Committee on Government Assurances. The matter was referred to Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and Privilege.

Output

• Three Private Members’ Bills – the Dar-ul-Madina International University Islamabad Bill 2013, the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute University Islamabad Bill 2013 and The MY University Islamabad Bill 2013 – were unanimously passed by the House.
• The House did not take up five resolutions on the agenda.

Order and Institutionalization

• Eight points of order consumed 30` minutes.
• MQM Senators staged a walkout over the reinforcement of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance. They walked out of the house 15 minutes before the sitting was adjourned.

Transparency

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

 

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), a member organization of FAFEN