ISLAMABAD, February 22,2012: Starting an hour behind schedule, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday passed the National Disaster Management (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (Amendment) Bill 2012 during the fourth sitting of the ongoing 23^rd session.

The House met for an hour and 29 minutes with 34 Members present at the outset and 56 at the end of the sitting.

An Adjournment Motion about a resolution in the US Congress on Balochistan was debated in the House. Three Members, one each from PMLN, PML and MMAP, took part in the debate.

The Chief Minster and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.  The parliamentary leader of the PML was the only one to attend the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Assembly met for an hour and 29 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1700 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1800 hours. The House proceedings started late an hour.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting.
• The Chief Minster and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• The Parliamentary Leader of PML was the only one to attend the sitting, while the leaders of the PMLN, PPPS and PPPP were absent.
• Thirty five Members (27% of total Membership) were present at the start, while 56 (45%) were present when the sitting was adjourned.
• Five Members applied for leave to be absent.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• There were no Calling Attention Notices on the Order of the Day.
• All four questions listed for the Question Hour were put up and responded by relevant ministries.
• Ten Supplementary Questions were raised during the sitting.
• An Adjournment Motion about a resolution in the US Congress on Balochistan was debated in the House. Three Members, one each from PMLN, PML and MMAP, took part in the debate.

Output

• Out of the two bills present on the Agenda, the House passed “The National Disaster Management (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (Amendment) Bill 2012”. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Publication of the Holy Quran (Elimination of Printing and Recording Errors) Bill 2012 was introduced in the House.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• One Point of Order consumed 10 minutes (11% of sitting time), which attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

• There were no instances of protests, boycotts or walkouts during the sitting.

Transparency

• List of Business was available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
• The Quorum was maintained throughout the sitting.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly proceedings conducted by PAIMAN Alumni Trust, a member organization of FAFEN