Islamabad, February 15, 2013: Marked by passage of four education-related bills amid walkouts on the imposition of Governor’s rule in Balochistan and the debate over creation of new provinces, the 49th session of National Assembly witnessed a historic change in the rules of procedure allowing standing committees power to scrutinize ministerial budgetary proposals before made […]

Islamabad, December 26, 2012: The 48th session of the National Assembly witnessed the passage of two treasury-backed bills as well as the Fair Trial Bill 2012 amid low members’ attendance, leaving 60% of the agenda appearing on the orders of the day unaddressed. The house passed three government bills and introduced eight, sending them to […]

Islamabad, November 26, 2012:  The 47th session of the National Assembly did not address 64% of the agenda items listed on the orders of the day as it witnessed low attendance, lack of quorum, late starts and excessive use of points of order interrupting the regular proceedings. However five bills were passed during the session, […]

The 46th session of the National Assembly saw a positive development in the passage of a private member’s bill brought by a member of the opposition, however low attendance and participation persisted and 82% of the regular agenda was left unaddressed. Brought by a male PMLN member, the Abolition of Discretionary Quotas Bill was passed […]

The 45th session of the National Assembly witnessed a unanimous response to the factory fires in Lahore and Karachi by ordering judicial probes and condemnation of the recent satirical video about Islam. The session was otherwise marked by protests by opposition and government allies against rising petroleum prices, law and order, and the issuance of […]

The sessions of the upper and lower houses of the parliament in July were marked by the speedy passage of the contempt of court bill ahead of the hearing on the National Reconciliation Ordinance implementation case amid protests by the PMLN and other members of the opposition. The 13-clause bill exempting public office holders from […]

ISLAMABAD June 15, 2012: The Prime Minister’s contempt case and other political issues hampered the proceedings of the National Assembly’s budget session, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its report on 42nd session on Friday. Only 41 legislators (12% of the membership) took part in the debate on budget – much less than […]

The first session of the fifth parliamentary year traditionally convened to discuss the President’s address to the joint session of the parliament was marred by opposition’s protests and walkouts over the Prime Minister’s conviction by the Supreme Court in the contempt case. This badly disrupted the normal proceedings as 76% agenda items appearing on the […]

The 20th constitutional amendment, providing for an independent election commission, was passed during the 39th session of the National Assembly, held from February 1-14, 2012. The House also passed the Private Power and Infrastructure Board Bill 2011 and the Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Bill 2009. Three Private Members’ Bills were introduced and sent to […]

The 38th session of the National Assembly saw the adoption of a Resolution supporting democracy and passing of a bill to set up a commission for women rights. The session lasted 11 hours and eight minutes comprising six sittings from January 12 to 19, meeting on average an hour and 51 minutes per sitting. Each […]