Delay in Formation of Standing Committees highlighted in the 4th Session of the 16th National Assembly

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Highlights:

  1. 7 More MNAs-elect administered oath in 4th Session of the 16th National Assembly
  2. Deadline passed to elect Standing Committees
  3. National Assembly disposed of 66.24% agenda items in the 4th Session
  4. The session lasted 15 hours and 43 minutes in 7 sittings

Highlights of the Session

Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, MNA (NA-18 Haripur, KP, Independent) was declared Leader of the of the Opposition on April 02, 2024.

However, there has been delay in formation of the Standing Committees. According to Rule 200 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, members of departmental standing committee must be elected by the Assembly within thirty (30) days after the election of the Leader of the House.[1] Since Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA was elected on March 3, 2024, this meant that standing committees should have become functional latest by April 3, 2024.

Working Hours

The 4th Session of the 16th the National Assembly was convened on April 19, 2024 and was prorogued on April 29, 2024. The sittings were held for 15 hours and 43 minutes with an average time of 2 hours and 14 minutes per sitting. The longest sitting of the session was held on Tuesday, April 23 when the House was adjourned after meeting for 3 hours and 30 minutes. The shortest sitting was held on Monday, April 22 when the House was adjourned after meeting for only 1 hour. The Schedule of the Sittings is given in Appendix A.

Figure 1: Working Hours

Agenda Items Left Over

33.76 agenda items were left over during the 4th Session. Details of the agenda items left over are given in Appendix B.

Figure 2: Agenda Items Left Over

Quorum

Quorum was pointed out 3 times in 7 sittings: twice on Friday, April 19 and once on April 29. However, no sitting was adjourned due to lack of quorum.

Attendance

On average, 205 (61%) MNAs were recorded as present in the session.

Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, MNA (NA-18 Haripur, KP, Independent), Leader of the of the Opposition, attended all 7 or 100% out of 7 sittings during the 4th session. Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA (NA-123 Lahore, Punjab, PML-N) did not attend a single sitting during the 4th session.

Figure 3: Attendance

Top 5 Vocal MNAs

Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, MNA (NA-18 Haripur, KP, Independent), was the most vocal MNA during the 4th session, with a recorded talk time of 1 hour and 3 minutes, followed by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman, MNA (NA-265 Pishin, Balochistan, JUIP) who spoke for 35 minutes. Mr. Attaullah Tarar, MNA (NA-127 Lahore -XI Punjab, PML-N) spoke for 31 minutes during the 4th session. Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, MNA (NA-10 Buner-I, KP, Independent) spoke for 30 minutes. Rana Tanveer Hussain, MNA (NA-114 Sheikhupura-II Punjab, PML-N) spoke for 20 minutes.

Figure 4: Top 5 Vocal MNAs

Legislation

In the 4th session, the House passed only one government bill. Additionally, one government bill and one private member bill were introduced.

Figure 5: Legislation

Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice, on the behalf of Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Finance and Revenue, introduced the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024 aimed to resolve a large number of pending appeals before tax authorities. The bill targets delays caused by issues like bench constitution, case fixation, and disposal, with Rs 2 trillion in revenue currently tied up in Appellate Tribunals.[2] The bill was introduced on April 24, 2024 and passed by the National Assembly on April 29, 2024. The bill received assent by the President on May 03, 2024.

Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MNA (NA-248 Karachi Central-II, Sindh, MQMP), Minister for Science and Technology, introduced The National University of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aimed to correct errors in the NUTECH Act, where a comma was omitted in Section 1, Subsection (1) after the word ‘engineering,’ and the word ‘creating’ was supposed to be inserted after the phrase ‘capable of. The amendment intends to provide legal cover and align the Act with the mandate of the University. The bill was introduced on April 19, 2024 and referred to standing committee for review.

Dr. Nafisa Shah MNA (NA-202 Khairpur-I, Sindh, PPPP) introduced a private member bill titled The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeking to amend Article 25, which guarantees equality before the law, protection under the law, a non-discrimination provision, and affirmative action. However, the non-discrimination provision applies only to sex, and affirmative action to women only. The bill proposed that the non-discrimination provision should ideally address all the characteristics that are used to discriminate in societies, for instance, status, race, color, gender, age, disability, etc. Similarly affirmative action of the state must not only be restricted to women but to all the disadvantaged sections of society. The bill was introduced on April 23, 2024 and referred to standing committee for review.

Ordinances

Two Ordinances were laid during the session, The Apostille Ordinance 2024 (Ordinance No. 1 of 2024) aimed to simplify the authentication process of public documents for international use by abolishing the traditional and cumbersome legalization process. It replaced it with a single formality. Additionally, the bill sought to empower the Federal Government to establish rules for implementing the purposes of the Apostille Ordinance 2024. The ordinance was laid by Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice on April 19, 2024.

Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice, introduced the Seed Ordinance 2024 (Ordinance No. II of 2024) on behalf of Rana Tanveer Hussain, MNA (NA-114 Sheikhupura-II Punjab PML-N), Minister for National Food Security and Research, on April 29, 2024.

Mr. Umair Khan Niazi, MNA (NA-90 Mianwali-II Punjab, SIC) criticized the Seed Ordinance 2024, stating that the government was encroaching upon provincial domains. He argued that the ordinance undermined farmers’ rights to seed and provided multinational companies with control over Pakistan’s seed resources. In response, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the ordinance, stating that it would be referred to the relevant standing committees for further review. He emphasized that committee members would have the authority to either accept or reject the bill’s purpose.

Issues of Farmers

The House spent time on the issue of farmers facing wheat procurement delays. Members from the opposition and treasury benches urged the government to assist struggling farmers facing wheat procurement delays and demanded accountability for those allowed to import large quantities of wheat.

Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur MNA, (NA-222 Badin-I, Sindh, PPPP) emphasized the need for the government to review its wheat procurement policy to ensure farmers’ interests. Dr. Nafisa Shah, MNA (NA-202 Khairpur-I, Sindh, PPPP) called for transparent procurement of wheat directly from farmers instead of giving subsidies to others. Mr. Umair Khan Niazi, MNA (NA-90 Mianwali-II Punjab, SIC) criticized the unnecessary import of wheat, suggesting it was done for kickbacks and harmed local farmers. Sheikh Waqas Akram, MNA (NA-109 Jhang-II, Punjab, SIC) criticized the Punjab government for purchasing imported wheat at a higher price than from local farmers. Responding to this, Rana Tanveer Hussain, MNA (NA-114 Sheikhupura-II Punjab, PML-N) admitted to unnecessary wheat imports and pledged to improve wheat procurement.[3]

Delay in Formation of Standing Committees

The issue was highlighted in the session by Syed Naveed Qamar, MNA (NA-221 Tando Muhammad Khan Sindh, PPPP) who criticised. the delay in formation. He urged the Speaker to work with relevant parties to elect members of the standing committees as soon as possible. [4]

The House also spent 15 minutes discussing the issue of election of members of the Standing Committees.

Khawaja Izharul Hassan MNA (NA-247 Karachi Central-I, Sindh MQM-P) expressed concerns over the delay in committee formation, stressing that it was hindering the legislative work of the House. Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice agreed, stating that the house was now complete after the by-election, and without functional committees, it was challenging to conduct the business of the House. Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, MNA (NA-47 ICT-II, ICT, PML-N) informed the House that the government had agreed to allocate chairmanship of 10 standing committees to the opposition. He mentioned that they were close to determining which committees would be assigned to opposition parties, considering past practices.[5]

Suspension of Members

On April 19, 2024, the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, MNA (NA-120 Lahore, Punjab, PML-N), took action by suspending the memberships of two lawmakers, Mr. Jamshed Ahmad Khan Dasti, MNA (NA-175 Muzaffargarh-I, Punjab, SIC) and Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Khan, MNA (NA-27 Khyber, KP, SIC), for the 4th session. Both MNAs were suspended for using abusive language during the President’s parliamentary address on April 18, 2024. However, on April 22, 2024, the House terminated the suspension of both MNAs under the proviso to sub-rule (2) of Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007.[6]

International Earth Day

The House also adopted a resolution moved by Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for Law and Justice, recognizing International Earth Day. The resolution highlighted the critical importance of protecting the environment and ecosystems, particularly in combating plastic pollution. It emphasized the urgent need for coordinated efforts to address this global challenge. The Resolution was passed unanimously.[7]

Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues during 4th session

The quality of the time used during the National Assembly session can be gauged by analysing the time consumed on discussing key issues of democratic governance. The time dedicated to discussion on policy issues was 7 hours and 39 minutes. The maximum time consumed in discussion was on the issue of purchase of wheat by the government for 1 hour and 40 minutes.[8]

References

  1. Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 [Modified upto 30th May,2023 (English), National Assembly of Pakistan. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/64a6c08ce0b3b_624.pdf. ↑

  2. “NA passes tax laws amendment bill 2024” Associate Press of Pakistan online, April 29, 2024, accessed May 03, 2024. https://www.app.com.pk/national/na-passes-tax-laws-amendment-bill-2024/. ↑

  3. “Muhammad Anis “NA debates farmers hardships, wheat policies” The News International online, April 25, 2024, accessed May 03, 2024. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1182074-na-debates-farmers-hardships-wheat-policies. ↑

  4. “Nazeer Tarar tables “Seed (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024 (No. II of 2024)” in NA” Associate Press of Pakistan online, April 29, 2024, accessed May 03, 2024. https://www.app.com.pk/national/nazeer-tarar-tables-seed-amendment-ordinance-2024-no-ii-of-2024-in-na/. ↑

  5. Amir Wasim, “Bill to recover Rs2.7tr held up in tax litigation” Dawn online, April 24, 2024, accessed May 02, 2024. https://www.dawn.com/news/1829501. ↑

  6. “Membership of 2 opposition MNAs suspended for current session over ruckus during president’s address” Dawn online April 19, 2024, accessed May 03, 2024. https://www.dawn.com/news/1828424. ↑

  7. “NA unanimously passes resolution to address plastic pollution” Associate Press of Pakistan online, April 22, 2024, accessed May 03, 2024. https://www.app.com.pk/national/na-unanimously-passes-resolution-to-address-plastic-pollution/. ↑

  8. It must be noted that PILDAT has classified that a policy issue is such that involves any legislation or a recommendation on devising a policy. ↑