ISLAMABAD, January 27, 2015: The Sindh Assembly introduced a bill and adopted three resolutions during the fifth sitting of its 18th session on Tuesday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The Sindh Institute of Management and Technology Bill 2015 was introduced by a PPPP lawmaker and referred to the relevant standing committee for further deliberations.

The House adopted three resolutions regarding continuation of 650MW electricity supply from the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) to K-Electric; opening burn centers in all the districts of Sindh; and imposing a ban on sit-ins that cause road blockages.

A privilege motion moved by a PPPP legislator against an HESCO official was taken up and referred to the relevant committee. The motion had been left unaddressed during the sitting on Monday.

The House took a private motion moved by a PPPP lawmaker regarding appointment of a diabetologist and neurologist in each Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in the province.

MQM members staged a protest against the killing of their party workers in Karachi for eight minutes within the House. The protest was followed by a boycott of the proceedings. Following are some key observations of the assembly business:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 53 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1105 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting for two hours and five minutes while the rest of the proceedings were presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
• The Leader of the House attended the sitting for an hour and 28 minutes. The Opposition Leader did not attend the sitting.
• Fifty-four members (32%) were present at the outset and 39 (23%) at the adjournment.
• A maximum of 94 members (56%) were seen present at one point of the sitting.
• None of the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting.
• Four minority members were present.
• Four members applied for leave.

Output

• The Sindh Institute of Management and Technology Bill 2015, introduced by a PPPP lawmaker, was referred to the relevant standing committee.
• The House adopted three resolutions regarding continuation of 650MW electricity supply from the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) to K-Electric; opening burn centers in all the districts of Sindh; and imposing a ban on sit-ins that cause road blockages.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Five out of six starred questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant ministry. In addition, the MPAs raised 28 supplementary questions during the sitting.
• A privilege motion moved by a PPPP legislator against an HESCO official was taken up and referred to the relevant committee. The motion had been left unaddressed during the sitting on Monday.
• An adjournment motion moved by an MQM member regarding appointments in the Sindh Education Department was left unaddressed.

Order and Institutionalization

• Members spoke on eight Points of Order that consumed 23 minutes of the proceedings’ time.
• MQM members staged a protest against the killing of their party workers in Karachi for eight minutes within the House. The protest was followed by a boycott of the proceedings. The party members left the House at 1248 hours and did not return till the sitting’s adjournment.
• PPPP lawmakers also staged a protest within the House for eight minutes to raise their voice against MQM lawmakers who agitated in front of the Speaker.

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the members, observers and others.

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The daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN.