KARACHI, Dec 29: The fourth parliamentary year ending December 15 proved to be the most productive for the Sindh Assembly in terms of legislation as during this year, the assembly passed 15 government bills into law compared with the seven adopted in during 2004-05. In 2002-03, the house adopted four bills and in 2003-04 none out of the seven presented to it.
Another remarkable feature of the final year is the debate on as many as 44 adjournment motions out of the 318 tabled.
However, the number of private bills moved, discussed or carried is frustrating as out of 35, none was introduced although in the previous year, 11 private bills out of 36 were introduced. None was, however, carried. With the only exception of 2003-04, when one private bill out of 16 was passed, the entire record of the first parliamentary year was discouraging as seven bills were presented, two were introduced and none carried.
As far as privilege motions are concerned, 14 were moved, three of them were referred to the concerned committees and 11 lapsed during the fourth year. In 2004-05, 54 motions were moved and in 2003-04, 42 motions were moved out of which two in each year were referred to the concerned committees and all others lapse.
In contrast to this performance, the record of the first parliamentary year was comparatively better as in that year, out of 57 privilege motions, 12 were referred to the house committees and three were withdrawn by their movers. Only 43 had lapsed.
In the case of adjournment motions, 44 were discussed or allowed for a debate while 247 lapsed in the final year. In the previous year, 2004-05, only five were discussed or allowed to be discussed out of 316 presented by members and all the remaining ones had lapsed.
A total of 238 motions were moved and only 12 were discussed or allowed to be discussed in the year 2003-04 whereas in 2002-03, 187 were moved and 18 were discussed or allowed to be discussed. As many as 226 and 169 motions, respectively, had lapsed.
During the final year, all 317 motions lapsed as happened in 2004-05 and 2002-03 when out of 300 and 63, respectively, not a single motion was adopted for discussion. In the year 2003-04 also, only one out of 51 motions was adopted.
The record of resolutions presented and discussed is also not very encouraging as only one out of 781 resolutions was passed and all the other lapsed during the year under review.
In the year 2004-05, out of 1,735, only three resolutions were adopted whereas in the previous year, six out of 672 resolutions were adopted.The assembly’s performance vis-a-vis question hour, however, may be termed better comparatively as out of 952 questions, 535 were answered in the year 2005-06; out of 1,072, 602 questions were answered in the year 2004-05; and in the year 2003-04, 432 out of 756 questions were replied.
The year 2003-04 was busiest parliamentary year for legislators as in this year, 13 sessions, including three requisitioned, were held as against the previous year when out of 11, six were requisitioned sessions. However, 2004-05 and 2002-03 saw only seven and eight sessions, respectively, including two requisitioned sessions.
During last four years, performance of some of the assembly members, who were elected to the house for the first time, turned out to be outstanding as against the performance of those who had repeatedly been elected but are yet to emerge as promising parliamentarians. Among the new members having achieved prominence for their home work or skills in the opposition ranks are Shazia Marri, Humera Alwani, Fareeha Razzaq, Sharfunnisa Leghari, Kulsoom Nizamani, Shama Mithani, Sassui Palejo, Anwar Khan Mehar, Hameedullah Khan, Irfan Ali Shah, Sardar Jam Tamachi, Jam Mehtab Hussain, Mehreen Bhutto, Ayaz Soomro, Mohammad Yunus Barai, Nasrullah Shaji, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Tariq Masood Arain, Maulana Umar Sadiq and Zahid Ali Bhurgari.
In the ruling coalition, those who were able to cut a figure for responding to the opposition’s diatribe include Heer Ismail Soho, Fareeda Baloch, Farheena Ambreen, Naila Inam, Saeeda Malik, Bilqees Mukhtar, Raheela Tiwana, Faisal Sabzwari, Farhad Zaman Jatoi, Shakir Ali, Nadir Akmal Leghari, Abdul Quddous, Rauf Siddiqui, Qamar Mansoor, Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhry, S. A. Iqbal Qadri and Syed Sardar Ahmad.
Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah has truly observed that if members pay a little attention to the Rules of Procedure, this will not only make them relevant in arguing their point of view but also help him conduct out house proceedings smoothly.
The issues which dominated discussions round the year were law and order, NFC Award, Kalabagh Dam, water shortage, terrorism, military operations in Waziristan and other areas, US bombing on Pakistani soil, monsoon rains and natural calamities, demolition of Goths, voters list, etc.
Although the ruling coalition and the speaker appeared satisfied with the performance of the assembly during the final parliamentary year, the joint opposition termed the experience ‘disappointing’ saying that the house failed to reflect aspirations of the electorate and mitigate their sufferings caused by the soaring prices, rising unemployment, deteriorating law and order and adventures by the tyrant military rulers.
During the final year, two other major developments took place in the house. One was the no-confidence motion against Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah and Deputy Speaker Rahila Tiwana, both rejected by the majority of members. The other issue was the chit written by MPA Eshwar Lal to a woman MPA and the opposition’s strong reaction that led to a free-for-all in the house during the house proceedings.
