ISLAMABAD, January 9, 2015: Starting 19 minutes behind the schedule, the eighth sitting of the National Assembly’s 17th session was adjourned due to lack of quorum on Friday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Only 22 (6%) lawmakers were present at the outset and 74 (22%) at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 84 (25%) members were observed to be present at one point of the sitting.

The quorum was pointed out by a JUI-F lawmaker at 1210 hours, following which the Chair ordered the bells to be rung for five minutes. The Chair ordered for the count twice but the quorum was found to be incomplete. As a result, the sitting was adjourned till Monday.

The House did not discuss two motions under Rule 259 regarding the attack at Army Public School and problems faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) belonging to North Waziristan.

Two calling attention notices (CANs) regarding lack of amenities in Sultanpur village in Havelian, Abbottabad and theft of crude oil worth over Rs20 billion from Karak Oil Field were also not taken up by the House.

The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader did not attend the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the Parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The National Assembly met for an hour and 26 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1049 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for 44 minutes, while the rest of the proceedings were presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
• The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader did not attend the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of BNP, APML and PML-Z were present.
• Twenty-two members (6%) were present at the outset and 74 (22%) at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 84 members (25%) were seen at one point of the sitting.
• Four minority members attended the sitting.
• Thirteen members applied for leave.

Output

• The Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage presented its report on proposals to strengthen the media’s role in curbing terrorism.
• The House unanimously passed a supplementary resolution sponsored by a JI lawmaker to implement Sunnah in the country.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Thirteen out of 40 starred questions appearing on the agenda were answered by the relevant departments, while the MNAs raised 14 supplementary questions.
• The House did not take up two calling attention notices (CANs) regarding  lack of civil amenities in Sultanpur village in Havelian, Abbottabad and theft of crude oil worth over Rs20 billion from Karak Oil Field.
• The House did not discuss two motions under Rule 259 regarding terrorist attack at Army Public School and problems being faced by the IDPs belonging to North Waziristan.

Order and Institutionalization

• Nine points of order consumed 12 minutes of the proceedings’ time.
• Opposition members except MQM lawmakers and member from FATA staged a walkout at 1200 hours to lodge their protest against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor for not taking them on board in decisions pertaining to the region.
• PML-F members staged a walkout at 1205 hours against the government’s failure to purchase sugarcane in Sindh.

Transparency

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

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This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of FAFEN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This 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. Errors and omissions are excepted.