ISLAMABAD, February 28, 2013: Starting an hour and 35 minutes late, the 14^th sitting of the Sindh Assembly’s 40th session passed the Jinnah Sindh Medical University Bill 2013 amid protest by MQM. Fifty-five Members were present at the start while 76 were there at adjournment. Out of 13 starred questions on the agenda four were taken up and responded by the relevant minister. Additionally 29 supplementary questions were asked. The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 55 minutes.  The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, NPP and PMLQ (F-B) were present.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for three hours and five minutes.
• The sitting started at 1135 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours, witnessing the delay of an hour and 35 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 55 minutes.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, NPP and PMLQ (F-B) were present.
• Fifty-five Members were present at the start while 76 were there at adjournment. A maximum of 106 members were present at one point of sitting.
• Four minority members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Four out of thirteen questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded to by the relevant ministry. Additionally, 29 supplementary questions were asked.

Output

• The Jinnah Sindh Medical University Bill, 2013 was passed by the House.
• The House also adopted two Resolutions.

Order and Institutionalization

• Four Points of Order were raised consuming 15 minutes.
• The MQM protested against the passage of Jinnah Sindh Medical University Bill 2013 for 15 minutes and then walked out of the session.

 Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to the legislators, observers and others.
• The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the legislators.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN