ISLAMABAD, November 14, 2012: Starting 50 minutes late, the fifth sitting of 87^th session on Wednesday witnessed low attendance of Senators. Only 11 were present at the outset while 22 were there at the adjournment.

The sitting was marked by a six-minute walkout by Senators of ANP, PMLN and NP over the incidents of violence in Karachi.

The Deputy Chairman and the parliamentary leader of ANP, JUIF, MQM, PML, BNPA and PMLF did not attend the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Senate met for an hour and 25 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1650 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours. The proceedings started late by 50 minutes.
• The Chairman chaired the sitting. The Deputy Chairman was not present.
• The Leader of the House was present while the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• Only the parliamentary leader of NP attended the sitting.
• Eleven Senators were present at the start of the sitting while 22 were there at adjournment. A maximum of 39 Senators were observed to be present at one point of the sitting.
• Two Senators applied for leave.
• One minority Senator was present.
• The House took 30-minute prayers break.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Ten out of 21 questions on the agenda were responded by the relevant ministry. Additionally, 19 supplementary questions were also asked.
• A Calling Attention Notice regarding strike by CNG stations was deferred due to absence of the relevant Minister.
• A Motion under Rule 218 regarding the law and order situation with particular reference to target killings and sectarian violence in Balochistan, Karachi and Gilgit Baltistan was also deferred due to the absence of the Interior Minister.

Output

• A report of the Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production was presented in the House.

Order and Institutionalization

• Three points of order were consumed six minutes of the sitting time.

• ANP, PMLN and NP Senators staged a walkout over law and order situation in Karachi.

 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