ISLAMABAD, September 23, 2013: The Sindh Assembly’s seventh session was prorogued on Wednesday as the House adopted two resolutions during the sixth and last sitting.

One of the resolutions by MQM legislator expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Balochistan earthquake. The other resolution, also moved by an MQM legislator, was on the growing number of street children in Karachi.

The Sindh Healthcare Commission Bill 2013, introduced in an earlier sitting, was sent to a special committee for review.

A privilege motion was moved by a PTI member on the irresponsive attitude of the municipal commissioner of South district Karachi and other officials to his calls regarding poor sanitation conditions in his constituency. The matter was referred to a special committee.

The Speaker presided over the sitting. The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present. The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PMLF and PTI attended the sitting.

Six lawmakers spoke for 17 minutes on an MQM sponsored adjournment motion to discuss the poor garbage collection in Karachi.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 48 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1144 hours against the schedule start time of 1000 hours, witnessing a delay of an hour and 44 minutes.
• Seventy-five Members were present at the time of start and 74 when the sitting was adjourned.  At one point, a maximum of 88 Members were present in the sitting.
• The Speaker presided over the entire sitting. The Deputy Speaker attended the proceedings for two hours.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of Opposition was present for an hour and 50 minutes.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PMLF and PTI attended the sitting.
• The relevant minister was present for the question hour.
• One Member applied for leave.
• Five Minority Members were present.

Output

•  The Sindh Healthcare Commission Bill 2013, introduced in a previous sitting, was sent to a special committee for review.
• The House unanimously adopted two resolutions to express grief on the loss of lives in Balochistan’s earthquake and the growing number of street children due to government negligence. Both resolutions were presented by MQM lawmakers.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Three of five starred questions on the agenda addressed to the Livestock Department were taken up. Lawmakers asked 48 supplementary questions.
• A PTI MPA tabled a privilege motion on the irresponsive attitude of the municipal commissioner of South district Karachi and other officials to his calls regarding poor sanitation conditions in his constituency. The motion was referred to a special committee.
• Six lawmakers spoke for 17 minutes on an MQM sponsored adjournment motion to discuss the poor garbage collection in Karachi.

Order and Institutionalization

• Eleven points of order were raised consuming 17 minutes of the sitting.
• No incidents of protests/walkouts/boycotts were observed.

Transparency

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

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN