ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency’s (Pildat) score card on Tuesday said the National Assembly’s performance has declined in its third year compared to the previous two years of this government. A parliamentary year starts in June and ends in May.

The survey also says that accountability has been the weakest area in the National Assembly and that the prime minister’s attendance is also an issue.

According to the statement, the assembly’s performance has declined from 48pc in its second year to 43pc this year. Performance has also declined when compared with the five year average of the previous assembly.

The think tank has recommended that the National Assembly develop and enforce a code of conduct for members, which it says has been long overdue.

While MNAs file a statement of assets and liabilities with the Election Commission of Pakistan, the statement says, recent events such as the Panama leaks has made it clear that this is not enough to make MNAs more accountable.

Pildat suggests increasing the powers of parliament in order to hold MNAs accountable.

Perhaps the most disappointing statistics were for the prime ministers’ attendance who only attended 10pc of the sittings during the parliamentary year 2015-16, which is a steep decline from the 36pc sittings he attended during the second parliamentary year. The prime minister only attended one meeting of the Senate this year as well.

The oversight of the executive in 2015-16 received a score of 44pc, according to the research, which also says that the Public Accounts Committee and its sub-committees led by Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah met 118 times this year, which was 30pc more than the 91 times it met last year.

The research also says that the National Assembly witnessed a decline in involvement in foreign policy from 41pc in 2013-2014 to 34pc this year.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2016