ISLAMABAD, December 16, 2016: The National Assembly recalled the incidents of attack on Army Public School, Peshawar, in 2014 and Fall of Dhaka while leaving its scheduled business unaddressed, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Daily Factsheet on Friday.
Following are key observations of the proceedings during third sitting of the 38th session:
Members’ Participation
- The National Assembly met for an hour and 57 minutes.
- The sitting started at 1050 hours against the scheduled time of 1030 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and 35 minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the rest of the proceedings.
- The Leader of the House (Prime Minister) and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
- Forty-four lawmakers (13%) were present at outset and 36 (10%) at adjournment of the sitting.
- The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, PkMAP, JI, AMLP and APML attended the sitting.
- Three minority members were present.
Output
- The House did not take up legislative agenda appearing on Orders of the Day.
Representation and Responsiveness
- As many as ten out of 34 Starred Questions were responded to by the government. The lawmakers also asked 16 Supplementary Questions.
- The House did not address the Calling Attention Notices included in Orders of the Day.
Order and Institutionalization
- Three lawmakers spoke on as many Points of Order consuming 35 minutes of the sitting. They talked about victims of the attack on Army Public School in 2014 and the Fall of Dhaka.
- Entire opposition staged walkout to protest against disallowing a PTI lawmaker to speak on Point of Order.
- A PTI lawmaker tried to point out quorum at 1246 hours but the Chair adjourned the sitting without allowing him to speak.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the National Assembly proceedings conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted.
