ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the National Assembly on Tuesday managed to adjourn the House proceedings without executing any business on the private members’ day.
At least 20 private member bills were on the order of the day and none could be taken up due to the lack of quorum.
Soon after the national anthem, the PTI-supported lawmaker Iqbal Afridi pointed out the quorum. Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah suspended the proceedings to get the House in order. As the House reassembled after half an hour, the quorum was still incomplete, forcing the chair to adjourn the sitting until Wednesday morning.
According to a National Assembly official, each sitting costs the national exchequer about Rs24 million.
The issue of lack of quorum has been affecting the proceedings since the start of the ongoing session on May 11.
On most of occasions, the chair had to suspend proceedings for some time to complete the quorum. At least 86 members are required to complete the quorum in a House of 336 members. The treasury benches simply enjoy two-thirds majority in the lower house.
However, the PPP MNA Sharmila Farooqui posted on X that it was not the PPP’s responsibility to complete the quorum when “nearly 95% of PMLN MNAs were absent.
“Deeply frustrating to sit in the National Assembly day after day only to see the quorum repeatedly pointed out by the opposition because the treasury benches remain empty”, she said. She also shared a photo of the vacant treasury seats in the National Assembly hall.
