FAFEN PARLIAMENT MONITOR - 286 SESSION January 21 - February 1, 2019 HOUSE OF FEDERATION
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
HOUSE OF FEDERATION
FAFEN
PARLIAMENT
MONITOR
th
286 SESSION
January 21 - February 1, 2019
FREE AND FAIR ELECTION NETWORK
www.fafen.org www.openparliament.pk
ABBREVIATIONS PML-N Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) PPPP Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians PTI Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PML-F Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) NP National Party BNP-M Balochistan National Party (Mengal) ANP Awami National Party BAP Balochistan Awami Party JI Jamaat-e-Islami JUI (F) Jamiatul-Ulema-e-Islam (F) MQM Mutahidda Qaumi Movement PkMAP Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party IND Independent Member CANs Calling Attention Notices AM Adjournment Motion
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS SENATE: 65% LAWMAKERS
NOT CONTRIBUTED TO
Total
Sittings DEBATE ON MONEY BILL
9
83% Agenda Addressed during 286th Session
One Private Member's Bill and Five Resolutions
Passed
Female Lawmakers Surpass Male Counterparts
in Discussing Budget
ISLAMABAD, February 3, 2019: The Senate addressed 83 percent of its
agenda during 286th session held between January 21 and February 1,
Working
2019. However, the participation of lawmakers remained low in debate
Days
on the Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 as only
12
36 out of 103 (35%) sitting lawmakers participated in the discussion.
Minister of State for Revenue laid a copy of the Finance Supplementary
(Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the House inviting Senators'
recommendations on the bill. The House witnessed low interest of
lawmakers in debate on the bill as 67 (65% of the current membership –
103) did not contribute to the debate. Among them, nine were female
legislators while 58 were male lawmakers.
Four non-participating female lawmakers were from PPPP, while two
each were from PML-N and MQM whereas one female Independent
Cumulative lawmaker also did not contribute to the debate on the bill. Similarly, of
Duration the 58 male members not taking part in the budget debate, 25 were
Independent, nine from PML-N, eight from PPPP, seven from PTI, two
26
Hours & 5 Minutes
each from MQM, JUI-F and NP and one each from BAP, BNP-M and PML-
F.
Of the 36 members who took part in the debate, 25 were male and 11
were female. The female lawmakers, however, were found to be more
active as compared to their male counterparts, as 55% (11 out of 20) of
them expressed their views on the budgetary proposals while only 30%
(25 out of 83) of the males contributed to the general discussion.
The female lawmakers consumed an hour and 32 minutes while their
Total male counterparts took four hours and 47 minutes to deliberate over the
Break Time budget. Out of 11 participating female MPs, three each were from PTI
and PML-N, followed by two from PPPP, one each from ANP, PkMAP and
2
Hours & 24 Minutes
an Independent lawmaker. Likewise, six male lawmakers of PPPP, four
of PTI, three each of PML-N and NP, two each of JI, JUI-F and
Independent and one each from BAP, MQM and PkMAP participated in
the budget debate.
Chairman Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic
Affairs presented report of the Committee on the Finance
Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the House adopted
www.fafen.org 01
55 recommendations as recommended by the Standing Committee.
These recommendations would be forwarded to the National Assembly
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS for further consideration.
Average Overall, the nine-sitting session's agenda comprised five private
Sitting Delay members' bills, an ordinance, six resolutions, 11 Calling Attention
Notices, five motions under Rule 218, 14 Adjournment Motions (AMs), five
NIL
motions under Rule 194 (1), two motions under Rule 196 (1), one motion
of thanks, 32 reports /papers and 79 Starred Questions.
The House passed one private member's bill while four were referred to
the relevant standing committees; five resolutions were adopted while
one was deferred on the mover's request; nine CANs were taken up and
two were deferred on the request of relevant ministers while three
motions under Rule 194 (1) and two under Rule 196 (1) were passed. In
addition, nine AMs and five motions under Rule 218 remained
unaddressed.
Members at Outset
(Average) The House spent 18 percent (four and 47 minutes) and five percent (70
minutes) of the proceedings on Points of Public Importance and Points
12
of Order, respectively, while the proceedings remained suspended for
two hours and 24 minutes (nine percent) due to lack of quorum or prayer
break. The session's proceedings were repeatedly interrupted by the
walkouts or lack of quorum. The opposition lawmakers staged four
present walkouts and the quorum was identified by them six times that led to the
suspension of the proceedings for 59 minutes and once an early
adjournment of the sitting.
The session's proceedings were repeatedly interrupted by the protests,
walkouts or lack of quorum. The opposition lawmakers staged five
Members at End walkouts and three protests over the issues relating to legislation, use of
(Average) improper language and exclusion of questions from the agenda.
Moreover, they identified the quorum four times that led to the
17
suspension of proceedings for 49 minutes and an early adjournment of a
sitting.
present
1 Session, Duration and Attendance
The 286th session of the Senate comprised nine sittings held between
January 21 and February 1, 2019. Cumulatively, the House assembled for
26 hours and five minutes, while the proceedings remained suspended
for two hours and 24 minutes. Each sitting started at the scheduled time
Maximum and continued for nearly two hours and 54 minutes. The Chairman
Members
presided over the proceedings for 23 hours and 41 minutes (100 percent
of the session excluding breaks) while the Deputy Chairman was present
64 in one sitting only.
The Leader of the House attended all the sittings during the session for 22
hours and 52 minutes (97 percent of the proceedings). On the other
hand, the Leader of the Opposition remained present in the House
during seven sittings for eleven hours and 13 minutes (47 percent of the
proceedings).
www.fafen.org 02
SITTINGS DURATION (hh:mm)
04:47
03:53 03:42 03:46
03:11
02:28 02:11
01:09 00:58
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
KEY MEMBERS’ ATTENDANCE
9 9 7
1 0
Leader of Leader of the
Chairman Deputy Chairman Prime Minister
the House Opposition
Presided for Presided for Spent Spent Spent
100% 0% 0% 97% 47%
Time (hh:mm) Time (hh:mm) Time (hh:mm) Time (hh:mm) Time (hh:mm)
23:41 00:00 00:00 22:52 11:47
* Nine percent time was consumed in a break for prayers and suspension of proceedings.
MEMBERS’ ATTENDANCE
23 23
15 16 15 16 16 15
13 14 14 14
12 11 12 11 12 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Members at Outset Members at End
www.fafen.org 03
PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS ATTENDANCE
Usman Kakar M. Azam Khan Swati Sitara Ayaz Sherry Rehman M. Ali Khan Saif
PkMAP I9
attended PTI I9
attended ANP I8
attended PPPP I7attended MQM I7 attended
Siraj ul Haq Muzaffar Shah Jehnzeb Jamaldini Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti Atta Ur Rehman
JI I6
attended PML-F I6
attended BNP-M I5
attended BAP I5attended JUI-F I 1
attended
Hasil Bizenjo Mushahid Ullah Khan
NP I0
attended PML-N I0
attended
www.fafen.org 04
The official attendance records indicate that the average per sitting
attendance of lawmakers was 64 (62 percent) during the session.
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS According to headcounts conducted by FAFEN, an average 12 (11
percent) lawmakers were present at the commencement and 17 (16
5
percent) at the adjournment of each sitting.
The parliamentary leaders of PkMAP and PTI were most regular among
the leaders of parliamentary parties as they were observed to be
present in every sitting of the session. They were followed by the ANP
Total leader who did not attend the sitting once. The leaders of PPPP and
MQM attended seven sittings each, PML-F and JI six sittings each, BNP-M
Bills & BAP five sittings each and JUI-F one sitting. The parliamentary leader of
PML-N and NP did not attend any sitting during the session.
2 Senate Output
4Bills
This section deals with the legislative business, resolutions, reports and
documents presented before the House during the session.
2.1 Legislation
The legislative agenda brought before the House during 286th session
Referred to comprised an ordinance and five private members' bills. The House
Committees passed one bill, referred three bills to the relevant committees following
their first reading i.e. introduction in the House while one bill was referred
to the committee for the second time after the mover's consent to have
further consideration on it.
Out of five private members bills included in the Orders of the Day, MQM
1
Ordinance
lawmaker sponsored three bills; JI lawmakers jointly sponsored one bill
while one bill was sponsored by an Independent lawmaker.
A brief description of the bills passed or introduced in the House is given
below:
Laid 2.1.1 Private Member's Bill Passed
1 The Federal Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2017
The bill aims at making internship mandatory for ensuring practical
experience of university students before getting degrees.
Date of Introduction: October 23, 2017
1
Date of Presentation of Committee Report: February 16, 2018
Date of Passage: January 21, 2019
2.1.2 Private Members' Bills Introduced
Bill 1 The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (Amendment of Article 260)
Passed The bill proposed to declare the service as “President” and the “Governor”
not to be included in the “service of Pakistan” so that they may take part in
political activities immediately after relinquishing the office instead of
waiting for two years.
www.fafen.org 05
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS 2 The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (Omission of Clause (2) of Article 30)
The bill proposes to omit Clause 2 of Article 30 of the Constitution of Pakistan
to remove any type of doubt whether any action of an organ or authority of
the State, or of a person performing functions on behalf of an organ or
5
Resolutions
authority of the State is in accordance with the law or not?
The Compulsory Blood Test of the Spouses and Proposed Spouses for
3 Thalassaemia Disease Bill, 2018
The bill aims to provide compulsory blood test for proposed spouse for
Thalassaemia and also urges the government to make rules for carrying out
the purposes of this Bill within six months after its approval.
Adopted
4 The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2018
The bill aims to make a provision in the National Identity Card (NIC) to
facilitate the donation of human organs or tissues in case of accidental
death. During the current session, the bill was referred to the Senate
1
Standing Committee on Law and Justice after the consent of the mover
despite passage of motion to consider the bill.
2.1.3 Ordinance Laid
Resolution 1 The Elections (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019
Deferred The ordinance provides for grouping two or more separate areas in a single
constituency for the purpose of elections to be held for the seats of
Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from erstwhile Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Date of Promulgation: January 2, 2019
Date of Laying in the House: January 31, 2019
5MuR
2.2 Resolutions
The House adopted four private members' resolutions included in the
Orders of the Day and one supplementary resolution. The adopted
218 private members' resolutions urged the government to implement the
minimum wages for labourers, create Hazara Electric Supply Company;
Not Taken Up ensure availability of essential life-saving medicines in the federal
hospitals and safeguard the ownership and inherent rights of the people
of Gwadar in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The House adopted a supplementary resolution to express sorrow over
the demise of PPPP leader, Malik Hakmeen Khan. Another private
32
Reports
member's resolution on the agenda was deferred on the request of the
mover that demanded the conduct of fresh census in Orakzai Agency.
One private member's resolution was submitted by each male
lawmaker of JI, PML-N, and MQM while two other resolutions were
submitted by as many Independent male legislators. A supplementary
Presented resolution was also moved by a PPPP lawmaker.
www.fafen.org 06
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS 2.3 Reports
The Standing Committees presented 27 reports on various issues referred
to them by the House, of which seven were related to Senate Standing
79
Committee on Interior, five to Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs;
three each to Law and Justice, Petroleum and Federal Education and
Professional Training; two to Information, Broadcasting and one each to
Aviation, Communications, National Food Security and Research and
Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.
Starred
Moreover, the government also presented five statutory reports in the
Questions House during the session while the House granted extension to the
committees for presentation of five reports.
The House adopted the report of Standing Committee on Finance,
Revenue and Economic Affairs on the depreciation of Pakistani rupee
against dollar. Another report related to Standing Committee on Law
53
and Justice was also adopted after consideration which was on a Point
of Public Importance and related to the procedure for including names
in the Black List and its legal value.
Supplementary
Questions 3 Representation and Responsiveness
This section gives statistical as well as qualitative overview of the
legislators' interventions in the House – Questions, Calling Attention
Notices (CANs), Motions under Rule 218 or any other motions – for
oversight of the government and to articulate issues of public interest
and importance.
51
Questions
3.1 Questions
According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the
Not Taken Up Senate, the first hour of every sitting except Monday is reserved for
asking and answering questions by the members.
Although seven out of nine sittings were held on the days other than
Monday, the House only observed the Question Hour during two sittings.
The requirement to hold the Question Hour was suspended in the
remaining sittings for holding debate on the Finance Supplementary
(Second Amendment) Bill, 2019. The questions lapsed during the session
6
Questions
would now be considered in the next session as per announcement by
the Chair.
The Rules of Procedure require the executive to answer a starred
question orally as well as in writing while the un-starred questions are to
be replied only in writing. Out of 79 starred questions, only 22 were taken
Disposed of up for oral answers while six other questions were disposed of and the
remaining 51 were not taken up. The lawmakers asked 53
supplementary questions for further elucidation of the starred questions.
Out of the total questions, 12 each were sponsored by three JUI-F, four
www.fafen.org 07
PPPP and four Independent lawmakers, 10 each by three MQM and
three PML-N lawmakers, nine by four PTI lawmakers, eight by two JI
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS lawmakers, four by a PkMAP lawmaker and two by as many NP
lawmakers.
11
Calling
The questions appearing on the list were addressed to nine ministries or
departments of the government and their break-up is as follows:
Sr. No.
1
Ministries
Aviation Division
No. of Questions
12
Attention 2 Cabinet Division 2
3 Climate Change Division 1
Notices
4 Commerce and Textile 6
5 Housing & Works 2
6 Petroleum 23
7 Energy (Power Division) 21
9
CANs
8
9
Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony
Water Resources
Total
3.2 Calling Attention Notices
6
6
79
Taken Up The Assembly took up nine out of 11 CANs appearing on the Orders of
the Day. The notices highlighted the issues of the decision of Peshawar
High Court regarding FATA Interim Governance Regulation; non-
operationalization of Sibbi-Harnei and Shahrag-Khost railway route;
rape and murder of a minor girl in Abbottabad; detention of an official
of High Commission of Pakistan in India; reducing the size of Public Sector
2
CANs
Development Programs (PSDP) for Balochistan; miseries of displaced
residents of Quaid-e-Azam University land; missing revenue target;
surge in total debt of the country and increase in the Hajj expenses by
the government this year.
The House deferred two CANs on the request of the relevant ministers
Deffered regarding revival of hundred years' old Mandra Chakwal-Bhoun Railway
line and revision of flight duty time limitation of PIA.
Three CANs were individually sponsored by two PPPP lawmakers, three
by PML-N legislators, and one each by JI, NP and PkMAP Senators while
two CANs were jointly sponsored by PPPP, MQM and JI lawmakers.
2
Motions
3.3 Motions
As many as 14 adjournment motions, five motions under Rule 218, a
motion of thanks to the President for his Address to the Parliament were
part of the Senate's Agenda for 286th session.
under Rule The Chair admitted two Adjournment Motions (AMs) after examining
196-1 them under rules 85 to 89 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of
Business in the Senate, 2012. Three AMs were rejected by the Chair while
the remaining nine AMs were not considered by the House. The
www.fafen.org 08admitted motions were related to internal accountability system of FIA
and the delay in announcement of the NFC Award.
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
The House did not consider five motions under Rule 218. These motions
were about increase in the infant mortality rate; payment of royalty to
9
Members
the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on account of electricity
being generated from Mangla Dam; human trafficking; health facilities
at Islamabad's public hospitals and the foreign policy of Pakistan.
Seven lawmakers participated in the debate on Presidential Address
and spoke for 57 minutes. The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs
raising concluded debate and spoke for 17 minutes. The House adopted a
motion of thanks to the President for his address to the Parliament.
Points of Order
4 Order and Institutionalization
5
Motions
Oder and Institutionalization are important for an efficient and
productive legislature. This section provides information about Points of
Order, quorum and any instances of walkout during the proceedings.
4.1 Points of Order
under Rule
As many as nine lawmakers raised as many Points of Order (POs)
194-1
consuming an hour and 10 minutes (five percent) of the proceedings.
The discussion on most of the POs was related to the absence of ministers
in the House to respond to the parliamentary interventions and not
fulfilling the Constitutional obligation by the government to lay the
6
ordinances in the Parliament.
Moreover, 31 lawmakers raised matters of public importance
consuming four hours and 47 minutes (18 percent) of the proceedings.
These matters were related to killing of the civilians in Sahiwal by the
Instances of Counter Terrorism Department, Punjab, as well as the regional,
governance and political issues.
Identification
of Quorum 4.2 Quorum
The issue of quorum kept on haunting the Senate session for some time
and the quorum was identified on six occasions by the lawmakers
belonging to NP, PPPP, PML-N and Independent. In the first instance, the
quorum was found complete over the headcount while later on the
4
identification of quorum led to the adjournment of one sitting and
suspension of the proceedings for 59 minutes.
4.3 Walkouts
Walkouts The opposition lawmakers staged four walkouts during the session. The
opposition's joint walkouts were instigated after the absence of Minister
for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs to lay the Money Bill in the
House, as well as the ministerial absence to respond to the
parliamentary interventions and not fulfilling the Constitutional
obligation by the government to lay the ordinances in the Parliament.
www.fafen.org 09About FAFEN
§ FAFEN is one of the most credible networks of civil society organizations working
for strengthening citizens' voice and accountability in Pakistan since 2006.
§ FAFEN has harnessed information technology for real-time monitoring,
facilitation and technical backstopping of partners for effective and result-based
program delivery.
§ FAFEN is the only civil society group to have been invited by the Judicial
Commission to present the evidence of illegalities and irregularities documented
through the course of General Elections 2013 Observation. The systemic and
procedural issues identified by FAFEN have been acknowledged by the
commission in its detailed findings.
§ FAFEN's recommendations for electoral reforms have contributed to the work of
Parliamentary Committee for Electoral Reforms.
§ FAFEN's advocacy for parliamentary transparency, accountability and reforms
has shaped public discourse on parliamentary reforms. Improved citizens'
access to parliamentary information including daily public release of
parliamentarians' attendance records can be directly attributed to FAFEN's work.
§ FAFEN deployed 18,000 and 40,000 non-partisan and trained observers for the
systematic observation of general election 2008 and 2013, respectively, largest
citizens' observation ever undertaken in Pakistan.
§ FAFEN's evidence and recommendations for reforms have improved the quality
of public and political discourse on elections, its issues and need for reforms.
Leading political parties and media houses extensively use FAFEN's election
findings and analysis to build a case for reforms.
§ With more than 25,000 followers on Twitter and around 144,000 on Facebook,
FAFEN is considered one of the most reliable sources of electoral and
parliamentary information in the country.
www.openparliament.pk I www.parliamentfiles.com
Free and Fair Election Network
www.fafen.orgYou can also read
