ISLAMABAD, March 15, 2024: The National Assembly convened on Friday for the seventh sitting of its inaugural session. During the sitting, five lawmakers took an oath of membership.
The following are key observations of the sitting:
• The Minister of Commerce responded to a Calling Attention Notice (CAN) regarding the ban on the export of agricultural products, with three lawmakers speaking on the matter for six minutes. However, another CAN regarding the failure of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment to address the grievances of citizens seeking employment abroad against overseas employment promoters was not discussed.
• Two bills were introduced by the Minister of Law and Justice, namely the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Legal Aid and Justice Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2024. These bills were forwarded to the relevant committee for further consideration.
• During the sitting, the Minister of Law and Justice presented seven ordinances before the House. Concerns were raised by three opposition lawmakers regarding the presentation of these ordinances, and they spoke on the matter for five minutes. However, the House approved the resolutions seeking extensions of 120 days for the ordinances. Subsequently, seven lawmakers spoke on granting the extensions to the ordinances for a duration of 20 minutes.
• At 12:22 hours, lawmakers belonging to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) protested for 20 minutes against the extension of 120 days for the seven resolutions.
• Furthermore, the House unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Israeli war on Palestinians and urged the federal government to play a more proactive role in pushing the international community to enforce a cease-fire.
• The session commenced 48 minutes later than scheduled and lasted for an hour and eight minutes.
• A total of 137 lawmakers were present at the outset of the sitting, while 104 were present at the end. Additionally, five members elected on seats reserved for non-Muslims attended the sitting.
• The session was prorogued sine die.
This factsheet is based on the direct observation of the House proceedings on March 15, 2024, by the Free and Fair Election Network.
For more updates, visit FAFEN Digital, www.fafen.org and www.openparliament.pk
