FAFEN Senate of Pakistan 15Th Parliamentary Year Annual Report
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PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ANNUAL 2017-18 THE SENATE OF PAKISTAN - FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENTARY YEAR NT MON E ITO M R IA L R A P N E F A F FREE AND FAIR ELECTION NETWORK www.fafen.org I www.openparliament.pk ABBREVIATIONS AJIP Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan ANP Awami National Party APML All Pakistan Muslim League AMLP Awami Muslim League Pakistan BISP Benazir Income Support Program BNP Balochistan National Party CANs Calling Attention Notices CDA Capital Development Authority FATA The Federally Administered Tribal Areas ICT Islamabad Capital Territory IND Independent Member JI Jamaat-e-Islami JUI-F Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam (Fazlur Rehman) MQM Muttahida Qaumi Movement MUR Motion under Rule NP National Party NPP National Peoples Party PkMAP Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party PML Pakistan Muslim League PML-F Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) PML-N Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) PML-Z Pakistan Muslim League (Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed) PPPP Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians PTI Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf QWP-S Qaumi Watan Party (Sherpao) 01 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15TH PARLIAMENTARY YEAR: SENATE STANDS FOR PARLIAMENTARY SUPREMACY, INTRA-INSTITUTIONAL DIALOGUE During the fifteenth parliamentary year ending in legislation, executive oversight and public March 11, 2018, the Senate set outstanding representation. In 15 sessions comprising 105 benchmarks of punctuality, efficiency and sittings, the House approved 50 bills, including responsiveness, critically intervening in issues of two constitutional amendments that provided for national importance through quality debates and extension of military courts for two more years impactful legislation. Under the visionary and reallocation of the National Assembly seats leadership of the outgoing Chairman Raza among federating units on the basis of provisional Rabbani, the House of Federation contributed census results. The Elections Act, 2017, which towards consolidation of democracy in Pakistan reformed and consolidated eight separate by allowing debates and discussions on matters election laws, was also passed during the year. as sensitive as balance of power among the organs of state, civil-military relationship and the Other important government legislation included role of intelligence agencies in an effort to assert reforms in the criminal justice system providing the constitutional supremacy of parliament. for compensation of litigation costs, institutionalization of alternate dispute resolution In an otherwise politically tumultuous year that mechanisms, witness protection, strict witnessed an increasing judicial scrutiny of punishments for sale of obscene objects, democratic and political processes, the Senate decriminalization of suicide, expeditious disposal played a stabilizing role through its efforts to open of law suits and increase in the blood money intra-institutional dialogues and repeated (diyat). The House also legislated on the right to assertions for the need of negotiations among information, rights of transgendered persons, powerful political actors and intuitions to develo p whistleblower protection, climate change and unanimity of views on the directions that t h e institutional reforms. In addition, the House state must take. The unprecedented briefing to the Senate Committee of AVERAGE SITTING TIME the Whole by the Chief of Army Staff 3:33:44 3:22:14 3:18:54 (COAS) was perhaps part of the same effort. 2:19:51 2:22:01 2:04:39 The Senate or the House of Federation also set efficiency standards for its sister legislatures by addressing an unprecedented 98% of its scheduled business and optimally using the 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary proceedings for its core duties of Year Year Year Year Year Year 02 adopted 69 resolutions making affairs of the federation. The Senate committees recommendations to the government on issues were also empowered to scrutinize the concerning foreign affairs, economy, internal development budgets of their relevant ministries. security, education, health and others. In addition, the Senate got representation in the Public Accounts Committee that was previously The lawmakers kept a close vigil on the executive consisted of the members of the National by raising 1,538 questions, 452 Matters of Public Assembly. Importance, 112 Calling Attention Notices, 117 Adjournment Motions and as many Motions Between 2015 and 2018, the House held record under Rule 218. Various standing, functional, 296 sittings which is 27% more than the number of select and special committees of the House also sittings held during the preceding three years. The deliberated in length on issues referred to them, average duration of the sittings increased from 2 including the legislative proposals and presented hours and 19 minutes in 10th parliamentary year to 234 reports to the House. The House witnessed three hours and 18 minutes in 15th parliamentary only two instances of quorum identification and year. The agenda transaction also tripled over the six instances of walkouts or protests throughout last three years. On average, each Order of the Day the year. comprised 14 agenda items during the 15th parliamentary year as compared to five agenda The end of 15th parliamentary year also marks the items per sitting during the 12th parliamentary completion of Senator Raza Rabbani's term as the year. Chairman Senate. Under his leadership, the Senate enacted overarching regulatory reforms to In another welcome change from the past improve its productivity and quality of work. The practices, Chairman Rabbani ensured that the House introduced meaningful changes in its Rules House sittings start on the scheduled time. The of Procedure and Conduct of Business reforming average delay in the commencement of the legislative procedure, mechanisms to hold proceedings reduced from 46 minutes per sitting government accountable to the elected to only four minutes per sitting. Unlike the past, the representatives and devising new processes House did not take any recess-month during the enabling citizens to connect to the parliament. past three years. Between 2012 and 2015, the The reforms in the Senate rules allowed the Senate took four no-session months. citizens to file public petitions to the House on issues of public importance and concerning the PRESIDING TIME OF CHAIRMAN (PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL TIME) 80% 74% 78% 69% 67% 40% 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Parliamentary Year Year Year Year Year Year 03 را ںر ل:ن د اور رى ام ہ از ر § اا ن اے 98 ار ۔ § ر ر دت ا اور روا دور رس ات ۔ ام آد، ١١ رچ ٢٠١٨: راں ل ن د ن ز اں ر رد ہ ڑ ا ١١ رچ ٢٠١٨ ا ام ۔ اس ا ت ں اور ن زى ذر ا ا ام د۔ و ش ر ر دت ت وق ز وا رن اان ر ام اور رن د ا دار ادا ۔ اس دوران اان ر ر اداروں ارت ازن ا ، و ى ت اور اداروں دا ر س ت ا زِ زِ زِ ر روا روا ا ا ب ب آز آز ۔ ۔ ں ا ل اور رى و ار ا اورخ ل و اس دوران اداروں درن اات ا رى ر ر ا داروں درن ا اق را ا ۔ ا ا ل ل دورا دورا ن ن آف آف آر آر ف ف ر ر دت دت ر ر رم م د د ۔ ر ر ل دوران ا رہ اے ٩٨ ار ر ر ر اور ر اں دوران ں و و ن زى، ا اور ا ہ ل ۔ اس ل ١٥ اس ١٠٥ ں ۔ ۔ اس دوران اان ٥٠ ّدات رى دى دو آ ا ۔ آ ا اں دو ل ا اور اور دم رى وق اں درن ا ں از ۔ ا ل ا ات وا ا ن ا ا ا ٢٠١٧ ٢٠١٧ و و ر ر ۔ ۔ آں، اا ِِِن ارى ا ا ر اور اف ا، وں اں دل م م، ان ، اد اؤں ، د م رى در د اور د ر ا ۔ اس وہ ت ا ، ا اؤں ق ، ا اع د واں ٖٖٖ ، ں اور ادارہ ات ا ن زى ى ۔ اا ِِِن اس ل دوران ٦٩ اردادوں رى دى ر ار، ، دا ام، اور ت رت رت 04 ۔ اراِاراِاراِ ر ل دوران ا اور رد ا ١٥٣٨ ات ، ٤٥٢ ا ا ت ت ، ١١٢ دؤ ١١٧ رِ ١١٧ رِ ١١٧ رِ اا اور ا ر زِ زِ زِ ٢١٨ ۔ اان ں، ں اور ں ں رد ہ ٢٣٤ رر اان اان ا ّدات اور د ار رت ۔ ر ر ل دو رم اا ن ا وا كآؤٹ وات آ۔ ر ر ل ام ر ر ے وش ر ۔ ان دت دور اا ِن ات و اان رد اور م ر وا ى ہ آ۔ اان ا ا و ا ں ف ن زى اور ا ر ں اہ ِرا را و ۔ ا ا و اب ى ا ق اور و و رن ار اہِ را ا ا رروا ۔ ا ح ں ا وزارت ِ اور اس رت ارات د ۔ رر ر دور اؤ دى ۔ ا دور ارات اور دا ر و ورت آز ا۔ ٢٠١٥ ٢٠١٨ اس ٢٩٦ ٢٠١٢ ٢٠١٥ ں دوران ہ ں ٢٧ زدہ ۔ ں اد ا ان دورا اہ ا د آ اور ں او دورا دور دو ١٩ ھ ١٨ ۔ ر ر اان اے ا ا۔ دور او ار اے ں او ھ دہ ار ۔ ر ر اان رروا ہ و وع ا روا آز اور ل ا ۔ ٢٠١٢ ٢٠١٥ دوران او ٤٦ وع ا او ٢٠١٥ ٢٠١٨ دوران ر رہ ۔ اس اں د آ۔ ر ادوار اں و ل ت ۔ ر ر ر ہ اا ِ ن اس ر اور و ۔ PROCEEDINGS DURATION, ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION This section gives the details of the schedule and duration of sessions as well as the members' attendance, maintenance of quorum and participation of members. It also reviews the presence of key members – Leader of the House, Leader of the Opposition, Speaker and Deputy Speaker – and the time they spent on the floor of the House. 1 Total Sessions Total Sittings Total Duration 15 105 348 Hours and 4 minutes 06 DURATION AND ATTENDANCE The Senate convened 15 sessions, comprising 105 sittings during the 15th parliamentary year.