August 23, 2003	Saturday	Jumadi-us-Sani 24, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Friday reprimanded the cabinet members for not attending the sessions of the house.

The absence of a majority of ministers from the house prompted the speaker to make the observations, as it presented a deserted look following boycott by the opposition of the proceedings in protest against the Legal Framework Order (LFO).

The speaker asked the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Raza Hayat Harraj, to ensure attendance of ministers during the sessions.

At least those ministers who were present in the capital should attend the session, he said.

“I will not pinpoint the ministers but they should realize that it is their duty to be present during the sessions of the house,” the speaker ruled.

When the speaker made these observations, only four or five ministers out of 24 were present in the house.

Later, a minister conceded that even the quorum was not complete and had someone pointed it out, it would have caused embarrassment to the government.

When Mr Harraj assured the speaker that his message would be communicated to the ministers, Chaudhry Hussain observed: “This is not a matter of message. It is their duty to be here.”

The ruling alliance’s chief whip, Labour and Manpower Minister Abdul Sattar Lalika said the ministers would attend the sessions in future if they were not abroad.

The speaker also asked the ministers to ensure that the answers to all the questions must be made available to the house.