KARACHI:
Under the law, the minimum quorum required for running the National Assembly (NA) is one-fourth of the 342-member house. Therefore, it is almost absurd that only 85 members of the national assembly (MNAs) are running a nation of 220 million people. In fact, less than 85 members are present at some sessions. The Speaker of the NA who is sitting in his high chair fails to realise this and other MNAs have to highlight the lack of quorum.
This poor situation demonstrates that both the federal government and the opposition have no interest in their jobs despite availing all the benefits and perks given to them as part of the job. The MNAs are required to represent their constituencies and their issues. However, their failure to attend sessions shows a lack of concern and many problems remain unaddressed.
The government and other stakeholders must amend the rule and increase the parliament quorum to either 50% or 75% and MNAs who do not attend sessions must face suspensions. At the start of each session, attendance should be carried out using biometric devices and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must check attendance to ensure quorum requirements are met. The Speaker and Deputy should also be responsible for providing leaves and forwarding suspension requests to the committee against those who fail to attend sessions. These amendments are crucial for ensuring the smooth functioning of the parliament.
Shahryar Khan Baseer
Peshawar
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2022.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
