By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: The 15th National Assembly has passed 30 laws in its second parliamentary year, posting an increase of 200 per cent as compared to the first year when only 10 legislative bills were approved. “Within legislation, 15th National Assembly has passed three times or 200 per cent more bills than in the first year by passing 30 laws in the second year,†the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), in a press release, said Thursday. Out of the total passed bills, it said only 21 became acts of the Parliament after getting approval from both the houses of the Parliament and presidential assent. Around 31 ordinances were promulgated during the period under review, it added. The laws and amendments were related to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), State-Owned Enterprise (SoE) law, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Overall average attendance of the National Assembly members in the lower house proceedings also saw a decline due to the coronavirus pandemic. The National Assembly also met for fewer days in the second year, possibly again due to the coronavirus pandemic, as compared to first year. The actual working days at 89 during the second year, were nominally decreased by 7 per cent from first year when the Assembly had met for 96 days. The Assembly should be commended for exceeding (140 days) the constitutionally required minimum (130 days) working days (inclusive of two-day breaks) despite the constraints imposed by COVID-19. An important KPI, working hours spent in each Assembly sitting, saw an increase of 31% from the first year. The National Assembly spent 43 additional working hours by putting in 340 hours and 34 minutes in its second parliamentary year compared to 297 hours and 18 minutes in the first parliamentary year. The average working hours in the second parliamentary year were 3 hours and 50 minutes per sitting as compared to 2 hours and 55 minutes per sitting in the first parliamentary year. The budget session also saw a slight increase in number of days and working hours utilised for budget scrutiny. During the second year, the NA spent 18 days (104 hours and 14 minutes) as compared to 16 days (89 hours and 27 minutes) in the budget session in the first year.
