Sindh Assembly Takes Up Entire Agenda

ISLAMABAD, September 30, 2016: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh was prorogued after transacting entire business set on ‘Orders of the Day’ on Friday, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Following are key observations of the proceedings during last (8th) sitting of the 27th session:

Members’ Participation

  • The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 54 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1041 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
  • The proceedings were suspended for three minutes due to prayer break.
  • The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and 57 minutes while the remaining proceedings were chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
  • The Chief Minister attended the sitting for an hour and 50 minutes.
  • The Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for an hour and 34 minutes.
  • Forty-three lawmakers (26%) were present at start and 56 (33%) at adjournment of the sitting.
  • The Parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F, PML-N and PTI were present.
  • Six minority members also attended the sitting.

Output

  • The House unanimously adopted a resolution paying tribute to two soldiers of Pakistan Army who embraced martyrdom in the result of firing by India at Line of Control (LoC).
  • The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs presented two Audit Reports before the House.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • Five out of eight Starred Questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the government. The lawmakers also asked 26 Supplementary Questions.
  • All five Calling Attention Notices (CANs) that appeared on the ‘Orders of the Day’ were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministers.
  • An Adjournment Motion remained unaddressed due to absence of mover.

Order and Institutionalization

  • A lawmaker spoke on a Point of Order consuming two minutes of the proceedings.

Transparency

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

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings, conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.