Islamabad, March 25, 2024: The Provincial Assembly of Punjab convened on Monday for the fourth sitting of the fifth session.

The following are key observations of the sitting:

• Two lawmakers affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) took an oath of membership.
• At 1253 hours, members belonging to PML-N protested for two minutes against derogatory remarks made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against a female lawmaker of PML-N. Subsequently, PML-N lawmakers staged a walkout at 1255 hours for the same reason.
• Twenty-three lawmakers participated in the discussion regarding the Annual Budget for the final quarter of 2023-2024 (April to June), presented during the first part of the ongoing session, spanning two hours and 34 minutes.
• Six lawmakers raised seven points of order, totaling nine minutes.
• The Leader of the Opposition was present for three hours and 10 minutes.
• The sitting commenced two hours and 15 minutes later than scheduled and lasted for three hours and 29 minutes.
• At the start, 105 members were present, while 29 members, including five members elected on reserved seats for minorities, were present by the end.
• The next sitting of the Punjab Assembly will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at 1000 Hours.

This factsheet is based on the direct observation of the House proceedings on March 25, 2024, by the Free and Fair Election Network.

For more updates, visit FAFEN Digital, www.fafen.org and www.openparliament.pk