ISLAMABAD, February 29: Starting an hour and 20 minutes behind schedule, the first sitting of Sindh Assembly’s 34^th session met for four hours on Wednesday as it passed a Bill and adopted two Resolutions. 

All questions on the Agenda were taken up, as 18 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.

The Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was unanimously passed by the House.

One of the two Resolutions passed by the House called upon the provincial government to “approach the federal government to make a law to stop forced conversion of minorities” and the other congratulated Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy on winning Pakistan’s first Oscar for her documentary – Saving Face – on the victims of acid throwing.

The Quorum, visibly lacking at various stages during the sitting, was not pointed out by any Member.

A total of 15 Points of Order consumed 19 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and 15 minutes while the remaining time was presided over by the Member of Panel of Chairpersons. The Speaker and the Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.

The parliamentary leaders of the NPP, PMLQ (F-B), MQM, PPPP and ANP were present while those of PML and PMLF did not attend the sitting.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for four hours.
• The sitting started at 1120 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and 20 minutes.
• The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and 15 minutes while the remaining time was presided over by the Member of Panel of Chairpersons.
• The Chief Minister was not present.
• The parliamentary leaders of the PMLQ (F-B), MQM, ANP, PPPP and NPP were present while those of PML and PMLF did not attend the sitting.
• Thirty-seven Members (22% of the total Membership) were present at the start while 47 (28%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Five minority Members were present during the proceedings.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• All questions on the Agenda were taken up, as 18 supplementary questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.
• The House adopted two Resolutions. One of the two Resolutions called upon the provincial government to “approach the federal government to make a law to stop forced conversion of minorities” and the other congratulated Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy on winning Pakistan’s first Oscar for her documentary – Saving Face – on the victims of acid throwing.
  

Output

• The Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Bill 2011 was unanimously passed by the House.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• A total of 15 Points of Order consumed 18 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order raised attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.
  

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 during the sitting, was not pointed out by any Member.

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