ISLAMABAD, March 9,2012: Starting an hour behind schedule, the seventh sitting of Sindh Assembly’s 34th session, which met for two hours and 10 minutes on Friday, unanimously passed two resolutions.
The first resolution condemned the “recent spate of wall chalking and posters seen in Karachi calling for a Muhajir province,” and called on “the government to expose whoever was behind it”.
The second resolution called for recognizing access to “good health as inalienable right of every individual” under Article 38 of the constitution and asked the government to “ensure reduction of health inequalities by tackling its root causes”.
The Speaker chaired the sitting while the Deputy Speaker was not present. The parliamentary leaders of the PMLQ (F-B), PPP, MQM, and ANP were present while those of PML, NPP and PMLF did not attend the sitting. The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
Six Questions out of eight on the Agenda were taken up, as 41 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.
Four Points of Order consumed 10 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 10 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1100 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour.
- The Speaker chaired the sitting. The Deputy Speaker was not present.
- The Chief Minister did not attend the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of the PMLQ (F-B), PPP, MQM, and ANP were present while those of PML, NPP and PMLF did not attend the sitting.
- Twenty Members were present at the start while 71 were there when the sitting was adjourned.
- Five minority Members were present during the proceedings.
- One Member applied for leave to be absent.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Six Questions out of eight on the Agenda were taken up, as 41 Supplementary Questions were also asked. The relevant minister was present in the House.The house unanimously passed two resolutions. The first resolution condemned the “recent spate of wall chalking and posters seen in Karachi calling for a Muhajir province,” and called on “the government to expose whoever was behind it”. The second resolution called for recognizing access to “good health as inalienable right of every individual” under Article 38 of the constitution and asked the government to “ensure reduction of health inequalities by tackling its root causes”.
Output
- There was no bill on the Orders of the Day.
Order and Institutionalization
- Four Points of Order consumed 10 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
- There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts.
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 of the Member.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN
