The Provincial Assembly of Punjab convened on Friday for the third sitting of the fifth session.

The following are key observations of the sitting:

• At 1149 hours, the members on the opposition benches protested for 16 minutes against remarks made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership.
• At 1205 hours, PML-N lawmakers protested against remarks made by PTI members about their leadership; subsequently, PML-N lawmakers staged a walkout for the same reasons.
• Six lawmakers raised ten points of order, totaling 11 minutes.
• Twenty-one 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 25 minutes.
• The Leader of the Opposition was present throughout the session.
• The sitting commenced two hours and five minutes later than scheduled and lasted for four hours and 53 minutes, including an hour and 20 minutes recess.
• At the start, 85 members were present, while 44 members, including seven members elected on reserved seats for minorities, were present by the end.
• The next sitting of the Punjab Assembly will be held on Monday, March 25, 2024, at 1000 Hours.

This factsheet is based on the direct observation of the House proceedings on March 22, 2024, by the Free and Fair Election Network.

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