PESHAWAR:
The current session of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly has also become one of its longest sessions.
This is the fifth longest session of the Assembly which began on July 19, once again a victim of lack of interest shown by lawmakers.
Lack of quorum in the Assembly has become almost commonplace, with its sessions suspended three times for this reason.
Likewise, this session was also delayed by four to five hours beyond the scheduled time due to the lack of interest shown by the members of the Provincial Assembly (APM).
Leader of the House, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, managed to attend only 11-12 Assembly sessions while Opposition Leader Dr Ibadullah was absent from most of them.
Monday’s Assembly session was held under the chairmanship of Vice President Suriya Bibi. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member Sobia Shahid, however, pointed out the lack of quorum immediately after the recitation of the Holy Quran during which the Vice President ordered the bells to ring for two minutes.
The Secretary of the Assembly then counts the number of members present in the Chamber. Only 27 people were present, after which the President adjourned the session for a prayer break.
When the session resumed, the required number of deputies was still not present to allow the work of the House to proceed.
The vice president then ordered the bell to ring again. But even this did not result in the presence of the required number of MPs in the House.
Accordingly, the Assembly session was adjourned till Friday.
Sources told The Express PK Press Club that although the current Assembly session began on July 19, it was still underway.
Long breaks were taken during this session and the Assembly also completed its 100 days. Around 33 Assembly members were also suspended for failing to submit their reports to the Election Commission, which also reduced the number of Assembly members.
Despite the absence of a quorum at times, some laws were passed on the basis of “yes” and “no” votes, which the opposition protested unsuccessfully.
The sources added that late start of Assembly sessions had also become the norm. The session time in winter is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and in summer from 9:30 a.m. to noon, according to the regulations.
The speaker may also change the time of the meeting session at his discretion. However, the other two rules are said to be disregarded and the sessions are held solely based on the will of the speaker.
The sources also claimed that the amendment to the rules of the Assembly was made regarding the Speaker of Parliament at a time when the duties of police personnel in the province were mainly entrusted to educational institutions during the height of terrorism.
The rules of the Assembly have been amended so that the Speaker can change the time of Assembly sittings at any time due to shortage of police personnel.
