Senate celebrated its Golden Jubilee by holding a Special Commemorative Session
Highlights
- Senate met for only 19 hours and 54 minutes in 3 sittings
- Average time per sitting recorded at 6 hours and 38 minutes
- Longest sitting of 326th session held for 9 hours and 18 minutes; Shortest sitting lasted for only 1 hour and 18 minutes
- Each sitting started with an average delay of 5 minutes
Working Hours
The 326th session of the Senate began on March 15 and was prorogued on March 17. During the session spanning 3 days, only 3 sittings were convened. The schedule of the sittings during the session is given in Appendix A.
The 326th Session of the Senate met for 19 hours and 54 minutes with an average time of 6 hours and 38 minutes per sitting. The longest sittings of the session were held on Wednesday and Thursday, March 15 and March 16 respectively, when the House was adjourned after meeting 9 hours and 18 minutes on both days. The shortest sitting was held on Friday, March 17 when the House was adjourned after meeting for only 1 hour and 18 minutes.
The average delay in starting a sitting was 5 minutes during the session.
Agenda Items Left Over
No agenda items were left over during the whole session.
Quorum
No quorum was pointed out throughout the session.
Attendance
Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Leader of the House (Punjab, PML-N), attended 3 or 100% sittings during the session. Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Punjab, PTI), did not attend a single sitting during the session. On the average, only 47 or 47% Senators were recorded as present during the 326th session.
Top 5 Vocal Senators
Leader of the House, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar (Punjab, PML-N), was the most vocal Senator during 326th session with a recorded talk time of 19 minutes. He was followed by Senator Manzoor Ahmed (Balochistan, BAP) who spoke for 18 minutes. Senator Taj Haider (Sindh, PPPP) spoke for 15 minutes and Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (Punjab, PML-N) spoke for 14 minutes during the session. Senator Molana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (Balochistan, JUIP) spoke for 13 minutes.
Legislation
No bills were introduced or passed during the session. Similarly, no ordinance was laid or extended during the session.
Special Commemorative Session
The Golden Jubilee session of the Senate concluded on March 17, 2023 after holding 3 sittings on March 15, 16 and 17. The Senate Chair converted the House into the ‘Committee of the Whole’ under sub-rule (1) of Rule 194 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012. Felicitation Speeches on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of the Senate were delivered by sitting Members, former senators, Speaker National Assembly, Governors of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Sindh, Speaker Balochistan Assembly, Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Speaker Gilgit Baltistan Assembly. Ambassadors, high commissioners, representatives of international organizations such as the World Bank, presidents of chambers of commerce and industry, office bearers of bar councils and owners of media houses also attended the session.[1] Forty-seven (47) Senators spoke on this occasion.
This special session was chaired by Chairman Senate Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani who reaffirmed his commitment towards upholding democracy, rule of law, good governance, and the supremacy of the Parliament in order to make Pakistan stable, stronger, and unified. He also announced that the Committee of the Whole would be a permanent feature, held preferably every quarter to discuss challenges facing the country, hold a healthy discourse among all stakeholders on possible solutions, promote positive and critical thinking, and give voice to the aspirations of the federating units as well as people of Pakistan.
Prime Minister, Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA (NA-132 Lahore-X), while addressing the session on March 16, 2023, lauded the historical role of political leadership in framing the 1973 Constitution which granted equal rights to all the four provinces of the country. He congratulated the Senate for always passing the required legislation on important issues. He also urged the national political leadership to forge unity in order to address the prevailing challenges of economic instability and poverty. He said his party and coalition parties sacrificed their politics for the sake of the country.[2]
During the Senate special 326th session to commemorate 50 years of the Senate, a commemorative stamp was issued by the Pakistan Post while a commemorative coin and a medallion were also unveiled in connection with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Senate. Chairman Sanjrani emphasized the importance of taking a moment to reflect on the many achievements, progress, and successes made by the Senate over the past 50 years highlighting the performance of the Senate including number of legislations passed, key decisions taken and performance under other designated functions. However, the Senate chose not to issue a report highlighting the performance of the Senate in 50 years. PILDAT believes that the Senate should have undertaken a study to critically ascertain the performance and contribution of the institution in the past 50 years and to develop ideas on how the Senate can be made even more effective. Such ideas as a directly-elected Senate and giving it the financial powers should have been examined in detail in such a study. Golden Jubilee was a befitting occasion to undertake such a project.
Politics also overtook the celebration of this event as the Senators belonging to the PTI including the Leader of the Opposition, Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, did not attend it. The PTI should have utilized this as an important occasion to express their views on the performance of the Senate. Prime Minister, Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif criticized former Prime Minister, Mr. Imran Khan on his performance and his attitude towards politics.
89% agenda items were disposed of during 327th session
Highlights
- Senate met for only 14 hours and 23 minutes in 6 Sittings during the Session
- Average time per sitting recorded at 2 hours and 24 minutes
- Longest sitting of 327th session held for 3 hours and 15 minutes; Shortest sitting lasted for only 1 hour and 18 minutes
- Each sitting started with an average delay of 6 minutes
- Thirteen (13) bills passed by the Senate in 327th Session
Working Hours
The 327th session of the Senate began on March 30 and was prorogued on April 10. During the session spanning 12 days, only 6 sittings were convened. The schedule of the sittings during the session is given in Appendix B.
327th Session of the Senate met for 14 hours and 23 minutes with an average duration of 2 hours and 24 minutes per sitting. The longest sitting of the session was held on Monday, April 3 when the House was adjourned after meeting for 3 hours and 15 minutes. The shortest sitting was held on Tuesday, April 4 when the House was adjourned after meeting for only 1 hour and 18 minutes.
The average delay in starting a sitting was 6 minutes during the session.
Agenda Items Left Over
On average 11.07% agenda items were left over during the 327th session and the Senate could dispose 88.93% of its agenda items in 6 sittings. Maximum agenda items left over were 24% on April 3 even though it was the longest sitting. No agenda items were left over on March 30 when the Senate disposed of the whole agenda items on March 30. Details of the Agenda Items Left over are given in Appendix C.
Quorum
No quorum was pointed out during the session
Attendance
Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Punjab, PTI), attended 6 or 100% sittings during the session. He was followed by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Leader of the House (Punjab, PML-N), who attended 4 or 66.67% sittings. On average, only 63 or 63% Senators were recorded as present during the 327th session
Top 5 Vocal Senators
Senator Shahadat Awan (Sindh, PPPP), Minister of State for Law and Justice, was the most vocal Senator during 327th session with a recorded talk time of 1 hour and 3 minutes. He was followed by Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition (Punjab, PTI), who spoke for 59 minutes. Senator Mushtaq Ahmed (KP, JIP) spoke for 55 minutes. Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (Punjab, PML-N), spoke for 29 minutes during the session. Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Sherry Rehman (Sindh, PPPP), spoke for 27 minutes.
Legislation
During 327th session, the Senate passed 13 bills. Out of these, 1 government bill and 4 private members’ bills originated in the Senate while 7 government bills and 1 private members’ bill were transmitted by the National Assembly.
Government Bills (originated in the Senate) passed during 327th session
Private Members’ Bills (originated in the Senate) passed during 327th session
Government bills (transmitted by the National Assembly) passed during 327th session
Private Members’ bills (transmitted by the National Assembly) passed during 327th session
One (1) Government bill and six (6) Private Members’ bills were introduced during the session and all of them were referred to the concerned committees.
No ordinance was laid or extended during the session.
Time consumed on discussion of Policy issues during 327th session
The quality of the time used during the session can be gauged by analyzing the time consumed on discussing key issues of democratic governance. During 327th session of the Senate, total time consumed for discussion on policy issues spanned over 3 hours and 27 minutes. The maximum time consumed in discussing policy issues was on a bill ‘The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 (Act No. XVII of 2023)’ for 1 hour and 7 minutes.
Another way to look at it is that during the 327th session, out of 13 bills passed and 7 bills introduced, only The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 (Act No. XVII of 2023) was discussed for an hour and 7 minutes. Unfortunately, all other bills were only introduced or passed almost instantly during the session without any debate or discussion on the merits and demerits of these bills. The House was used just for passing the bills ignoring the quality, credibility, importance and requirement of these bills. This shows the House was not used for the purpose it was created for – to give voice to the people and represent them on all policy actions of the State. Most of the time of the House was used in the discussion of non-policy issues or mere criticism on rival parties or previous governments.
It must be noted that PILDAT has classified that a policy issue is such that involves any recommendation on devising a policy. Any discussion on an issue that does not go beyond mere criticism or highlighting a concern does not fall into policy issue and is treated as discussion or time spent on non-policy issues.
References
[1] Senate of Pakistan, “Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani urges renewed commitment towards strengthening democracy and federation”, Senate of Pakistan online, March 17, 2023, Accessed July 2, 2023, Available at https://senate.gov.pk/en/news_content.php?id=4850.
[2] “Economic stability links to politics: PM” The Express Tribune online, March 16, 2023, Accessed June 30, 2023, Available at https://tribune.com.pk/story/2406427/pm-hits-out-at-imran-says-wont-let-him-ruin-pakistan.
