ISLAMABAD, August 19, 2013: The National Assembly took up two Calling Attention Notices on increase in electricity tariff and the floods during the fourth sitting of the fourth session on Monday. The notices were moved in the previous sitting.

The Interior Minister provided the Lower House with details of the armed standoff on August 15 on Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad.

Out of the 27 Starred Questions on the Orders of the Day, ten were taken up. Additionally, MNAs asked 19 supplementary questions.

The sitting was chaired by the Speaker for four hours and 10 minutes while the remaining duration was presided by the panel of chairpersons. The Prime Minister did not attend the sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was present.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The National Assembly met for four hour and 50 minutes. The house took a 41-minute prayer break.
• The sitting started 40 minutes late at 1640 hours instead of the scheduled start time of 1600 hours.
• Ninety-one Members were present at the sitting’s start and 17 at the end. At one point, there were a maximum of 172 Members in the House.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for four hours and 10 minutes while the rest of the proceedings were chaired by a member of panel of Chairpersons.
• The Prime Minister was not present while the Leader of Opposition attended the sitting for two hours and 54 minutes.
• Parliamentary Leader of JI, the PTI’s Deputy Parliamentary and the sole members of AMLP attended the proceedings.
• Eleven MNAs applied for leave.
• Eight minority Members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Out of the 27 starred questions on the agenda, 10 were taken up and answered by a ministry representative. Additionally, Lawmakers also asked 19 supplementary questions.
• The House took up two Calling Attention Notices on the agenda. The notices on increase in electricity tariff from August 5, 2013 and floods in the country were directed to the Ministry for Water and Power and the Cabinet Secretariat respectively.
• A discussion on a Motion of Thanks on the Presidential address was put off.

Order and Institutionalization

• MNAs spoke on 26 Point Of Order for 144 minutes.
• No incident of protest/walkout/ boycott was observed.

Transparency

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

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI); a member organization of FAFEN