ISLAMABAD, February, 2013: Starting an hour and five minutes late, the fourth sitting of the 40^th session of the Sindh Assembly on Friday witnessed the passage of a treasury bill.

Fifteen members (9%) were present at the start while 65 (39%) at the adjournment of the sitting as the house passed the Karachi School of Business and Leadership Institute Bill 2012.

The Speaker, Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition as well as the parliamentary leader of ANP did not attend the sitting. The Deputy Speaker presided throughout the sitting.

The sitting also witnessed a protest staged by members belonging to PML-Q, NPP, ANP, PML-Q (Like Minded) over the point of order of a PMLF member on the matter of alleged possession of government vehicles by former advisor Imtiaz Shaikh.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for an hour and 40 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1105 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and five minutes.
• The Deputy Speaker chaired the proceedings.
• The Speaker, Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• The relevant minister was present.
• The parliamentary leaders of MQM, PMLF, NPP, PMLQ, and PMLQ (F-B) were present.
• Fifteen (9%) members were present at the start while 65 (39%) were there when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum, 66 members were observed at one point of the sitting.
• Four minority members attended the sitting.
• Three members applied for leave.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Six out of 16 starred questions on the agenda were responded by the relevant minister. Additionally, 28 supplementary questions were also asked.
• An adjournment motion raised by a PPPP member consumed four minutes. It was regarding an SHO and ASI of Khairpur district.

Output

• One bill appearing on the orders of the day, The Karachi School of Business and Leadership Institute Bill 2012, was passed by the house. The other two bills, The Sindh Protection of Breast Feeding and Child Nutrition Bill 2013 and The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Sindh) Bill 2013, were deferred.

Order and Institutionalization

• The House witnessed a five minute protest during the debate on the point of order raised by a PMLF MPA on the matter of alleged possession of government vehicles by former advisor Imtiaz Shaikh. It was staged by members belonging to PML-Q, NPP, ANP and PML-Q (Like Minded).
• Two points of order were raised. Only one required the Chair’s formal ruling.

Transparency

• Orders of the day were available to the legislators, observers and others.

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