The National Assembly could dispose of less than 31% of agenda items during 46th session

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Highlights

  1. National Assembly met for 27 hours and 4 minutes in its 15 sittings
  2. Average time per sitting recorded at only 1 hour and 48 minutes
  3. Longest sitting of 46th session held for 3 hours and 43 minutes; Shortest sitting lasted for only 52 minutes
  4. Each sitting started with an average delay of 51 minutes
  5. Eight (8) bills passed by the National Assembly in 46th Session
  6. Prime Minister of Pakistan did not attend a single sitting during the session while Leader of the Opposition attended only 3 out of 15 sittings

Working Hours

The 46th session of the National Assembly began on November 3 and was prorogued on December 13. Fifteen (15) sittings were convened during the session spanning over 41 days. The schedule of the sittings during the session is given in Appendix A.

This 46th Session of the National Assembly met for 27 hours and 4 minutes with an average time of 1 hour and 48 minutes per sitting. The longest sitting of the session was held on Monday, December 12 when the House was adjourned after meeting 3 hours and 43 minutes. The shortest sitting was held on Thursday, November 3 when 95.24% maximum agenda items were left over and the House was adjourned due to lack of quorum after meeting for only 52 minutes even though 106 (32.02%) MNAs were recorded as present on this day.

The average delay in starting a sitting was 51 minutes during the session.

Agenda Items Left Over

On average 69.41% agenda items were left over during the 46th session and the National Assembly could dispose only 30.59% of its agenda items in 15 sittings. Maximum agenda items left over were 95.24% on November 3 due to discussion by the members on the incident of firing on PTI’s long march. Minimum agenda items left over were 9.52% on December 13. The National Assembly could not disposed of the whole agenda in any sitting during the session. Details of the Agenda Items Left over are given in Appendix B.

Quorum

Lack of quorum was pointed out only in three (3) or 20% out of 15 sittings during the session. The same three sittings were adjourned due to lack of quorum. On average, 103 (31.14%) MNAs were recorded as present in the session. The details of the quorum pointed out are given in Appendix C.

Attendance

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, MNA, Prime Minister of Pakistan could not attend a single sitting throughout the session while Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz Ahmad, MNA attended 3 (20%) sittings held on November 10, November 24 and December 13. On average, 103 or 31.14% MNAs marked their attendance during the 46th session. The reason behind this low attendance is absence of PTI MNAs while ECP also de-notified 11 MNAs of PTI on July 29, 2022.

Top 5 Vocal MNAs

Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, MNA (NA-1 Chitral-I, KP, MMAP) was the most vocal MNA during the 46th session with a recorded talk time of 1 hour and 36 minutes. Mr. Noor Alam Khan, MNA (NA-27 Peshawar-I, KP, PTI) spoke for 35 minutes during the session, followed by Mr. Mohsin Dawar, MNA (NA-48 North Waziristan Agency Tribal Area-IX, KP, IND) who spoke for 30 minutes during the session. Choudhary Faqir Ahmad, MNA (NA-162 Vehari-I, Punjab, PML-N), spoke for 25 minutes and Ms. Aliya Kamran, MNA (Reserved seat for women, Balochistan, MMAP) spoke for 24 minutes.

Legislation

During 46th session, the National Assembly passed 8 bills. Out of these, 4 government bills and 2 private members’ bills were introduced in the National Assembly while 2 Private Members’ bills were transmitted from the Senate.

Government bills passed (Originated in the National Assembly) during 46th session

Private Members’ bills passed (Originated in the National Assembly) during 46th session

Private Members’ bills passed by the National Assembly during 46th session that were transmitted by the Senate

One (1) Government bill and seven (7) Private Members’ bills were introduced during the session and all of them were referred to the concerned committees.

No ordinance was laid during the session while one (1) ordinance The Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2022 (Ord. No.VI) was extended during the session.

Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues during 46th 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 46th session, total time consumed for discussion on policy issues spanned over only 1 hour and 25 minutes while the Assembly consumed 18 hours and 40 minutes on discussion of non-policy issues. The maximum time consumed in discussing policy issues was on a bill ‘The Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for 36 minutes while the House spent 1 hour and 59 minutes and 1 hour and 21 minutes on discussing non-policy issues of ‘Criticism on PTI leadership regarding long march and road blockages in Punjab’ and ‘Firing incident of PTI’ long march in Wazirabad’ respectively.

It must be noted that PILDAT has classified that a policy issue is such that involves any amendment in a bill or a 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.  

Time consumed on discussion of Non-Policy issues during 46th session