Highlights

1. National Assembly disposed of 35.82% agenda items in 49^th session and 50.93% in 50^th session
2. National Assembly met for only 8 hours and 24 minutes in 7 sittings during 49^th session and 7 hours and 42 minutes in 50^th session
3. Average time per sitting recorded at only 1 hour and 12 minutes during 49^th session; 1 hour and 17 minutes in 50^th session
4. Average gap between sittings during 49^th session was 3 days and in 50^th session is 1 day. The 50^th session began on Wednesday, February 15
5. Each sitting started with an average delay of 50 minutes during 49^th session and 1 hour 3 minutes in 50^th session
6. Only four (4) bills passed by the National Assembly in 49^th Session
7. Prime Minister did not attend a single sitting during both sessions

49th Session of the National Assembly

Working Hours

The 49^th session of the National Assembly began on January 16 and was prorogued on February 9. Only seven (7) sittings were convened during the session spanning over 25 days. The schedule of the sittings during the session is given in Appendix A.

This 49^th Session of the National Assembly met for 8 hours and 24 minutes with an average time of 1 hour and 12 minutes per sitting. The longest sitting of the session was held on Wednesday, February 1 when the House was adjourned after meeting for 2 hours and 33 minutes. The shortest sitting was held on Thursday, February 9 when the House was adjourned due to lack of quorum after meeting for only 15 minutes.

The average delay in starting a sitting was 50 minutes during the session.

Earlier, the National Assembly was convened for only one (1) sitting as its 47^th Session on Tuesday, December 20. The sitting was held to pass two (2) bills which included: The Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) (Amendment) Act, 2022 to limit the scope of the law to the Reko Diq project in Balochistan and The Control of Narcotics Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to provide for doing away with death penalty for drug smugglers and to replace it with life imprisonment. The 47^th session was prorogued after meeting for only 31 minutes.

Only after one day’s gap, the 48^th Session was convened on Thursday, December 22, 2022, again only for a single sitting. This sitting was also held to only pass two (2) bills including The Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Govt (Amendment) Act, 2022. The ICT LG bill was passed to increase number of Union Councils (UCs) of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) from 101 to 125 and provision of direct elections for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. The bill was not referred to any Standing Committee concerned and was passed hurriedly on the same day. 5 lawmakers spoke on the bill only for 11 minutes and objected on the passage of the bill just before a week of the scheduled local government elections in the ICT on December 31. The 48^th session was prorogued after meeting for only 38 minutes.

The 49^th session was held on Thursday, January 16 after a gap of 24 days.

Agenda Items Left Over

On average 64.18% agenda items were left over during the 49^th session and the National Assembly could dispose only 35.82% of its agenda items in 7 sittings. Maximum agenda items left over were 97.62% on February 9 due to lack of quorum even though 103 (47.25%) MNAs were recorded as present on this day. Minimum agenda items left over were 16.67% on February 3. The National Assembly could not dispose of the whole agenda in any sitting during the session. Details of the Agenda Items Left over are given in Appendix B.

During 47^th session, agenda items left over were 73.81% while during 48^th session, the agenda items left over were 27.27%.

Quorum

Lack of quorum was pointed out only in one (1) or 14.29% out of 7 sittings during the session and the sitting was adjourned on that account. On average, 93 (42.73%) MNAs were recorded as present in the session.

No quorum was pointed out during the 47^th and 48^th sessions of the National Assembly.

Attendance

Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA, Prime Minister of Pakistan, did not attend a single sitting throughout seven (7) sittings in 49^th session of the National Assembly. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz Ahmad, MNA, attended only 1 (14.29%) sitting held on February 1.

On average, 93 or 42.73% MNAs marked their attendance during the 49^th session. It must be noted that the ECP de-notified a total of 124 MNAs including 123 PTI MNAs and 1 MNA of the Awami Muslim League as their resignations were accepted by the Speaker of the National Assembly.[1]

Prime Minister, however, attended the sole sitting of the National Assembly in 47^th session. Same is the case for Leader of the Opposition though both chose not to attend the sole sitting of the 48^th session.

Top 5 Vocal MNAs

Mr. Asad Mahmood, Federal Minister for Communications, MNA (NA-37 Tank, KPK, MMAP) and Rana Sana Ullah Khan, Federal Minister for Interior, MNA (NA-106 Faisalabad-VI, Punjab, PML-N) were the most vocal MNAs during the 49^th session with a recorded talk time of 26 minutes each. Mr. Muhammad Jamal ud Din, MNA (NA-49 South Waziristan Agency-I Tribal Area-X, KPK, MMAP) spoke for 25 minutes during the session, followed by Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, MNA (NA-1 Chitral-I, KP, MMAP) who spoke for 24 minutes and Mr. Mohsin Dawar, MNA (NA-48 North Waziristan Agency Tribal Area-IX, KP, IND) spoke for 22 minutes.

Legislation

The National Assembly passed 4 bills during 49^th session. Out of these 4 bills, 2 were Government bills and 2 were Private Members bills.

Government bills passed by the National Assembly (Originated in the National Assembly) during 49th session

Private Members Bills passed by the National Assembly (Originated in the National Assembly) during 49th session

Four (4) Government bills and six (6) Private Members bills were introduced during the 49^th session. No ordinance was laid or extended during the session.

The National Assembly passed a total of 4 Government bills, 2 each during 47^th and 48^th sessions.

Government bill passed (Originated in the National Assembly) by the National Assembly during 47th session

Government bill passed by the National Assembly during 47^th session that was transmitted from the Senate

Government bills passed by the National Assembly (Originated in the National Assembly) during 48^th session

Three (3) Government bills were introduced in 47^th session while one (1) bill was introduced during 48^th session. No Private Members bill was introduced in 47^th and 48^th session. No ordinance was laid or extended during both sessions.

Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues during 49th session

The quality of the time used during the National Assembly session can be gauged by analyzing the time consumed on discussing key issues of democratic governance. During 49^th session, total time consumed for discussion on policy issues spanned over 5 hours and 29 minutes. The maximum time consumed in discussing policy issues was on suicide bomb blast in Police Line Mosque, Peshawar on January 30, 2023 and terrorism in Pakistan’ for 4 hours and 48 minutes.

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.

50th Session of the National Assembly

Working Hours

The National Assembly began its 50^th Session on February 15 and prorogued it on February 27. Only six (6) sittings were convened during the session spanning over 13 days. The schedule of the sittings during the session is given in Appendix C.

This 50^th Session of the National Assembly met for 7 hours and 42 minutes with an average time of 1 hour and 17 minutes per sitting. The longest sitting of the session was held on Monday, February 20 when the House was adjourned after meeting for 2 hours and 18 minutes. The shortest sitting was held on Friday, February 24 when the House was adjourned after meeting for only 56 minutes as only 60 or 27.65% MNAs marked their attendance.

The average delay in starting a sitting was 1 hour and 3 minutes during the session.

Agenda Items Left Over

On average 49.07% agenda items were left over during the 50^th session and the National Assembly could dispose only 50.93% of its agenda items in 6 sittings. Maximum agenda items left over were 71.43% on February 15. Minimum agenda items left over were 25% on February 20. The National Assembly could not dispose of the whole agenda in any sitting during the session. Details of the Agenda Items Left over are given in Appendix D.

Quorum

No quorum was pointed out during the session.

Attendance

Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA, Prime Minister of Pakistan did not attend a single sitting throughout the session. Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz Ahmad, MNA attended 2 (33.33%) sittings held on February 15 and February 22.

On average, 97 or 44.47% MNAs were recorded as present during the 50^th session.

Top 5 Vocal MNAs

Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Federal Minister for Defence, MNA (NA-73 Sialkot-II, Punjab, PML-N) was the most vocal MNA during the 50^th session with a recorded talk time of 41 minutes. Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, MNA (NA-1 Chitral-I, KP, MMAP) spoke for 28 minutes during the session, followed by Ms. Saira Bano, MNA (Reserved Seat for Women, Sindh, GDA) who spoke for 27 minutes during the session. Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Federal Education and professional Training, MNA (NA-120 Sheikhupura-II Punjab, PML-N) spoke for 17 minutes and Dr. Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla, MNA (NA-98 Bhakkar-II, Punjab, PTI) spoke for 16 minutes.

Legislation

During 50^th session, the National Assembly passed 3 government bills.

Government Bills passed (Originated in the National Assembly) by the National Assembly during 50^th session

Eight (8) Government bills were introduced during the session. However, no Private Members bill was introduced. No ordinance was laid or extended during the session.

Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues during 50^th session

The quality of the time used during the National Assembly session can be gauged by analyzing the time consumed on discussing key issues of democratic governance. The total time consumed for discussion on policy issues spanned over 4 hours and 29 minutes during 50^th session. The maximum time consumed in discussing policy issues was on the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023 for 3 hours.

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. 

References

[1] Nausheen Yusuf, “In major blow to PTI, ECP denotifies 43 MNAs” Geo News online, January 25, 2023, accessed May 7, 2023. https://www.geo.tv/latest/467119-in-major-blow-to-pti-ecp-denotifies-43-mnas.