ISLAMABAD, March 9: Only 15 legislators were present when the Punjab Assembly started the proceedings of the 11^th sitting on Friday. When the sitting was adjourned, 25 Members were present in the House.

The Quorum, visible lacking at various stages of the sitting, was pointed out by a PPPP Member – it led to the adjournment.

A maximum of 45 MPAs were observed present at one point of the sitting. None of the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting. The Chief Minister also did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present in the House for 10 minutes.

Near the end of the sitting chaired by the Speaker, PPPP Members walked out of the House after one of their colleagues was not allowed to speak on a Point of Order.

The one-hour 16-mintue long sitting, which started two hours behind schedule, did not take up a discussion on measures for protection of women.

Out of 23 Starred Questions listed for the Question Hour, 11 were put up and responded by the relevant ministries. Thirty four supplementary questions were asked.

Two Points Of Order consumed three minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for an hour and 16 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1100 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 0900 hours. The House proceedings started two hours late.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present for ten minutes.
• None of the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting.
• Fifteen Members (4% of the Membership – 369) were present at the start while 25 (7%) were there when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum of 45 Members (12%) were present at one point of the sitting.
• Three minority Members were present.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• Out of 23 Starred Questions listed for the Question Hour, 11 were put up and responded by the relevant ministries. Thirty four supplementary questions were asked.

Output

• There was no bill on the Orders of the Day.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• Two Points Of Order consumed three minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• PPPP Members boycotted the proceedings after their colleague was not allowed to speak on a Point of Order.
  

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
• The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting, was pointed out by a PPPP Member.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization, a member organization of FAFEN