The last and the longest session of Sindh Assembly from February 4 to March 15, 2013 held 21 sittings, lasting 56 hours and 51 minutes, and witnessed passage of 40 bills – 36 government and four private members’ bills.
However the legislation was not without controversy. In the last sitting of the session, the house passed nine bills. Of them five government and two private members’ bills were to increase salaries, allowances, and other perks of the Chief Minister, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, ministers, special assistants, and MPAs. The passage of bills to increase perks and privileges was criticized, especially the two private members’ bills granting salaries, allowances and privileges for the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chief Minister for life.
The Supreme Court while hearing a case on perks and protocol for former ministers and prime ministers took notice of the bills and asked for comments. However the Supreme Court was informed that the subject matter of salaries and privileges of the Chief Minister and Speaker falls within the domain of the provincial legislature, which is competent under clause (c) of the article 142 of the constitution.
As the MQM parted ways with the ruling PPPP a month before the house was to complete its constitutional term, the provincial assembly passed a bill to repeal the Sindh Peoples Local Government Act 2012, which essentially introduced two local government systems in the province. With the repeal of the act, the local bodies system of 1979 was reinstated. MQM lawmakers staged a walkout against the repeal of the Sindh Peoples Local Government Act 2012.
Similarly the MQM members protested against the passage of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University Bill 2013, which was reintroduced in the last session as the new bill gives the control over admission policy to the government.
The lawmakers of PML, NPP and ANP protested and staged a walkout over the passage of the Sindh Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill 2013 which regularized the out of turn promotions in the province, especially in the police. The protesting lawmakers had pointed out that the matter of out of turn promotions in Sindh was pending before the Supreme Court.
However the Sindh Assembly also passed important bills against domestic violence, on free and compulsory education, promoting breastfeeding and protecting the properties of minorities.
Apart from passing the bill against domestic violence on the International Women’s Day, the provincial assembly also passed the bill on free and compulsory education.
In the last sitting, the house also passed a bill to protect the properties of minorities in the province. Additionally six bills were passed to set up new universities and four others to establish institutes on art, science and technology, medical and visual sciences.
The Sindh Laws (Amendment) Bill 2012 was unanimously passed to officially change the spelling of the province’s name from Sind to Sindh. The subject of health was touched by the passage of two government bills – one to mandate the sale of iodized salt to public and the other to promote breastfeeding for better infant nourishment. After the passage of the 18th amendment, the house passed bills to adopt the federal laws on organ transplant and industrial relations.
The session was also marred by the controversy to appoint a Leader of the Opposition. After the PMLF joined the Sindh government in July 2011, the house was without a Leader of the Opposition. However, the PMLF left the government after the house passed the Sindh Peoples Local Government Act in October 2012.
After the MQM left the treasury benches in February 2013, one of its lawmakers was appointed Leader of the Opposition on March 5, 2013, only days before the house was dissolved. The newly-appointed Leader of the Opposition attended seven sittings.
Low attendance of members was observed during the session. On average in each sitting, 34 (20%) members were present at the outset, 64 (39%) at the adjournment and a maximum 73 members (44%) were observed in the plenary. Maximum attendance was observed in 13th sitting when 130 members attended the proceedings. On average, four of the nine minority members attended the session. Visibly lacking on various occasions during the session, the quorum was pointed only once.
The Chief Minister attended nine sittings. The Speaker chaired 12 sittings for 34 hours and 38 minutes (61% of total time) while the Deputy Speaker, who attended 15 sittings, presided over 18 hours and 54 minutes (33% of total time) as remaining 6% time was presided by panel of chairpersons.
The parliamentary leader of NPP attended 18 sittings, followed by MQM leader, who was present in 17 sittings. The leader of PMLF-B attended 14 sittings, ANP and PPPP leaders 12 each, PMLF seven and the PML leader attended four sittings.
Out of 166 members of Sindh Assembly, 65% (108) participated in the proceedings. Among participating members, two percent took part in submitting agenda, 48% took part in debates while 14% lawmakers did both. The house adopted 28 resolutions, condemning the incidents of sectarian violence in Quetta and Karachi, burning of Christians’ homes in Lahore, called upon the government to protect the properties of minorities, besides paying tributes to Pakistan women’s struggle for their rights on the International Women’s Day and increasing female literacy rate by 2015 to 80%. Another resolution called for giving Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi and Pashto languages national status by amending the article 251 of the constitution.
Standing committees’ reports – six regarding the scrutiny of bills – were also laid during the session.
The eighth sitting of the session was held in-camera over law and order in the province after the house passed a resolution demanding a briefing on the measures to address the “complex situation in Karachi”. Top police officials – Inspector General of Police and Additional Inspector General – briefed the members as MQM lawmakers boycotted the briefing midway through the sitting.
Out of nine adjournment motions in the last session, six were taken up. However an adjournment motion calling for debate on the misuse of the blasphemy law was not taken up. A total of 203 starred questions were submitted by 26 lawmakers during the session. Though 105 of the total questions were taken up in the house, the government provided full written answers to 196. Members also asked 376 supplementary questions.
The house witnessed four walkouts and 10 protests consuming 3% of the session time. The PPPP members protested over not implementing the Supreme Court verdict in the Asghar Khan case. PMLF lawmakers protested and walked out in two sittings against the proposed sale of islands by the government. Members of all parties staged a walkout against non-provision of MPA priority program by the Ministry of Finance.
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