ISLAMABAD, July 12, 2012: The fourth sitting of Senate’s 83rd session witnessed a walkout by the opposition (JUIF) and coalition partners (PML and ANP) over the killing of nine security personnel in Lahore by terrorists.
Beginning 34 minutes late, the sitting lasted two hours. Members raised 11 Points of Order which consumed 47 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of them attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
The Leader of the House attended the entire sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was there for an hour and 28 minutes.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Senate met for two hours.
- The sitting started at 1734 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1700 hours. The House proceedings started late by 34 minutes.
- The Chairman chaired the sitting.
- The Leader of the House attended the entire sitting while the Leader of the Opposition was there for an hour and 28 minutes.
- The parliamentary leaders of the ANP, JUI and PML attended the sitting.
- Five Senators (5% of total Membership) were present at the start, while 15 (15%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Nine of 32 questions appearing on the Agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant minister. Additionally, a total of 15 supplementary questions were also asked.
- The Motion under Rule 60 about non-provision of subsidy on electricity bills to the farmers in Balochistan was not taken up.
Output
- No Bills appeared on the Orders of the Day.
Order and Institutionalization
- Eleven Points of Order consumed 47 minutes of the sitting time. None of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.
- The JUIF, ANP and PML Senators staged a walkout over the killing of nine police personnel in Lahore by terrorist. The walkout lasted five minutes.
Transparency
- Orders of the Day were available to legislators, observers and others.
- Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceedings conducted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), a member organization of FAFEN
