ISLAMABAD: It was yet another listless and bland sitting of the National Assembly which was adjourned until Monday evening within 20 minutes of its commencement.

Once again it was lack of quorum which forced Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi to close the proceedings.

The house had merely commenced its proceedings when a PTI lawmaker pointed out quorum. On counting there were less than 86 members present in the house, one fourth of the total 342. As a result, the session was suspended for 20 minutes.

Federal ministers for parliamentary affairs, Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, and inter-provincial coordination, Riaz Pirzada tried their best, but could not manage to gather the required number of MNAs. Lack of quorum and interest in the National Assembly’s proceedings had been a chronic issue since the PML-N took over the charge in June 2013.

Despite governance issues, the house remained well attended during the PPP stint with former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani regularly showing up in the National Assembly.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2016