ISLAMABAD, November 4, 2013: The Senate passed a resolution moved by an MQM senator recommending “the federal government to take effective steps to eradicate child labour in the country” as all the opposition parties, excluding the MQM, continued its boycott for the third consecutive sitting.

The resolution on the issue of child labour was the only agenda item taken up by the Senate during its sixth sitting of the 98th session which was a private member day.

The sitting continued for an hour and 53 minutes, including 30-minute break for Maghrib prayers.

At the outset, a PPPP member on a point of order pointed out lack of quorum. However, the quorum was found complete after counting of the members.

The opposition members did not attend the sitting as a mark of protest against the alleged misconduct of the interior minister during the Oct 30 sitting of the Senate.

Three Senators – one each from MQM, PML-N and PML-F – took part in the debate on the resolution before its unanimous passage.

The Chairman presided over the sitting for 43 minutes whereas a member of the panel of presiding officers presided over the remaining sitting.

Following are some key observations of the House proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Senate met for an hour and 53 minutes. The House took 30-minutes prayer break.
• The sitting started at 1645 hours, witnessing a delay of an hour and 15 minutes against the scheduled start time of 1530 hours.
• Six Senators were present at the start and 14 at the adjournment of the sitting. At one point of time, a maximum of 26 members were present in the House.
• A PPPP member pointed out lack of quorum but it was found complete.
• The parliamentary leaders of JUI-F, PML-F, PML-N and MQM attended the sitting.
• The Chairman presided over the sitting for 43 minutes while a Member of Panel of Presiding Officers presided over the proceedings for 40 minutes. The remaining 30 minutes were consumed in the prayer break.
• The Leader of the House was present while the Deputy Chairman and the Leader of the Opposition were absent.
• Three Members applied for the leave.
• One Minority member was present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The House took one of the five resolutions on the 12-point agenda. Moved by an MQM Senator, the resolution called for eradication of child labour in the country.

Order and Institutionalization

• A PPPP Senator pointed out the lack of quorum, however it was found complete upon counting and the proceedings continued its activity without any interruption.

• Senators raised 11 points of order consuming 25 minutes of the sitting.
• The entire opposition continued the boycott of the session due to the alleged misconduct of the Interior Minister in the fourth sitting. The MQM lawmakers did not join the opposition’s boycott.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Senators’ attendance was not available to the observers and the public.  

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization; a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions excepted