Provincial Assembly: Treasury MPAs blamed for lack of quorum

The session adjourned without completing agenda for the third time in a week

LAHORE: Opposition members blamed their Treasury colleagues for frequent suspension of Provincial Assembly proceedings after the session on Friday was adjourned for lack of quorum. This was the third time in this week the session had to be discontinued for poor attendance.

The government claimed that 63 members attended the Friday session. According to assembly’s website, however, 176 members were in attendance. The session lasted only 40 minutes before being adjourned after lack of quorum was pointed out by an Opposition legislator.

Of the five days this week, the session has been prorogued due to low attendance on three (from Wednesday to Friday) failing to complete the agenda. The government claims to have improved the attendance from Monday onwards. The opposition, however, remains sceptical saying that lack of interest on part of the Treasury benches has hindered the progress.

Pakistan Muslin League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Khadija Umar said it was government’s responsibility to ensure quorum. She said the adjournment motions taken up during the session and the failure of the departments concerned to [effectively] respond to queries put forth by members rendered the exercise futile. Umar defended her party’s Ahmad Shah Khagga who had pointed out the quorum on Friday.

According to assembly’s rules of procedure, any member can point out quorum if less than one-fourth of all members are in attendance. The House has 371 members; so that the one-fourth is 93 members. The Speaker can then suspend the session for five minutes followed by another 15 to 30 minutes break to allow the quorum to be complete, before adjourning the session.

The PML-Nawaz has 310 members. Of the 53 opposition members, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has 30. “The government can easily ensure quorum on its own,” PTI’s Shoaib Siddiqui said.

About Opposition members’ frequent resort to quorum questions, Siddiqui said it was their right to highlight flaws in the House proceedings.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sardar Shahabuddin expressed concern over what he called continued absence of the chief minister and most ministers from assembly sessions. The legislator from Layyah said that it was natural for the Opposition to point to the quorum problem. “What is the point of holding a session when no one is there to answer questions?”

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Culture Rana Muhammad Arshad sad 63 members were present during the session on Friday. He said the Treasury hoped to improve attendance on its benches over the coming week.

The assembly website says 193 and 172 members attended the session on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

“It was Friday and members were pouring in when the quorum was pointed out,” Arshad said. He said several members prepared to leave for their home towns towards the end of a working week.

“We [the government] are responsible for ensuring the quorum. [That said] the Opposition should also act responsibly with regard to allowing the proceedings to go on.” He said the Leader of the Opposition, too, was absent and that there were only three members on opposition benches.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2016.