The Senate of Pakistan disposed of 100% agenda items during 330th Session
Highlights
- The Senate met for 14 hours and 30 minutes in 6 Sittings
- Average time per sitting stood at 02 hours and 25 minutes
- Longest sitting lasted 4 hours and 25 minutes; Shortest sitting lasted for only 11 minutes
- Each sitting started with an average delay of 49 minutes
- Four (4) bills passed by the Senate in 330th Session
- Two (2) Resolutions were passed by the House
Working Hours
The 330th session of the Senate began on June 09 and was prorogued on June 19, 2023. Six (6) sittings were convened during the session spanning 11 days. The schedule of the sittings during the session is given in Appendix A.
The 330th Session of the Senate was convened for 14 hours and 30 minutes with an average duration of 02 hours and 25 minutes per sitting. The longest sitting of the session was held on Thursday, June 15 with the House meeting for 4 hours and 25 minutes. The shortest sitting was held on Friday, June 09 when the House was adjourned after meeting for only 11 minutes.
The average delay in starting a sitting was 49 minutes during the 330th Session.
Agenda Items Left Over
No agenda items were left over during the 330th session of the Senate.
Quorum
Quorum was not pointed out during the 330th session of the Senate.
Attendance
Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Punjab, PTI) attended 6 or 100% sittings of the 330th session. He was followed by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Leader of the House (Punjab, PML-N) who attended 2 or 33.32% sittings. On average, 61 or 61% Senators were recorded as present during the 330th session.
Top 5 Vocal Senators
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed (KP, JIP) was the most vocal Senator during the 330th session with a recorded talk time of 42 minutes. He was followed by Senator Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui (Punjab, PML-N) who spoke for 29 minutes. Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (Punjab, PML-N) Federal Minister for Law and Justice, spoke for 28 minutes during the session. Senator Dr. Asif Kirmani (Punjab, PML-N) spoke for 27 minutes. Senator Mohsin Aziz (KP, PTI) spoke for 25 minutes.
Legislation
During 330th session, the Senate of Pakistan passed 4 bills. Out of these, 1 government bill and 3 private members’ bills had originated in the Senate. The bills were not referred to relevant Standing Committees.
No ordinance was laid or extended during the 330th session.
The Election (Amendment) Bill 2023 made amendments to the Elections Act 2017, aimed at empowering the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce poll dates unilaterally without having to consult the President. The bill also included a revision to Section 232 (Qualifications and Disqualifications) of the Election Act, 2017 setting a maximum limit of five years for the disqualification period of an individual.
The opposition criticized the bill calling it “Person-Specific Amendment.” Opposition Leader in the Senate, Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem (Punjab, PTI) raised concerns about the law, saying that according to the Constitution only the President and the Governors could appoint election date. Since the existing law already covered this, giving all the power to the ECP was not the right move. The bill was not referred to the concerned Standing Committee. This bill was assented by the President on June 25, 2023 thus taking 11 days to become an Act of Parliament.[1]
The bills titled the Chairman Senate (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Bill, 2023, The Deputy Chairman Senate (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Bill, 2023 and The Members of Senate (Salaries and Allowances) Bill, 2023 sought to increase the perks of former and future presiding officers of the Senate. On June 16, 2023, the Senate passed these three bills that increased the privileges enjoyed by former and current Deputy Chairman, and members of the Senate. The bill proposed remuneration of the Chairperson of the Senate including a monthly salary of Rs. 205,000, a sumptuary allowance of Rs. 50,000 per month, an equipment allowance of Rs. 5,000, and reimbursement for actual travel expenses for both the chairperson and family. Additionally, the bill covered the cost of transporting up to two personal servants at the lowest class of accommodation. As per the new bill, monthly expenses of Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen offices were increased from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 50,000. The Deputy Chairman’s discretionary fund was proposed from Rs. 300,000 to be Rs. 600,000.
Former Deputy Chairman of the Senate, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla from the PPP objected to the bill urging a reconsideration. He argued that the bill conveyed a negative message to the public especially since ordinary members had only been given minimal benefits, described metaphorically as a “lollipop” in the proposed legislation.
Senate Chairman defended the bill on the grounds that it would not place any additional burden on the national exchequer and it will put things in order by addressing audit issues, regretting that an impression had been created as if an additional burden worth billions has been put on the national exchequer. Senator Sanjrani clarified that the adjustments were made in accordance with decisions from committees over time, rectifying only the old act of “The Chairman (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975.”[2]
Table 1: Government Bills (0riginated in the Senate) passed during 330th Session
Table 2: Private Members’ Bills (originated in the Senate) passed during 330th Session
Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues during 330th 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 330th session of the Senate, total time consumed for discussion on policy issues spanned over 6 hours and 24 minutes. The maximum time consumed in discussing policy issues was on the Finance Bill, 2023 for 05 hours and 07 minutes. Discussion on the Election Amendment Act, 2023 consumed 40 minutes.
The Chairman Senate (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Bill, 2023 was criticised widely by the media and public but it was not discussed by any of Senate members. In the last sitting of the session on June 19, Senate Chairman, Senator Sadiq Sanjrani clarified that the intention was to organize and address audit concerns. He also stressed that the proposed law would not increase financial burden on the government However, Senator Sanjrani’s clarification failed to placate some members as Senator Saleem Mandviwala (Sindh, PPPP) criticized the bill . [3]
On June 12, 2023, the Senate passed two (2) resolutions to honour the sacrifices and efforts of martyrs and Army’s significant role for Pakistan’s peace, security and stability. A resolution condemning the May 9, 2023 mayhem was also passed. Senator Raza Rabbani said that shocking and brutal acts of May 9, 2023 were horrible and perpetrators must get severe punishment for destroying the civilians and military installations in such a violently aggressive manner. He also added that their trials should be held under civilian law and not under military law. [4]
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.
Table 3: Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues
