Marked by low attendance of lawmakers, the Senate left the entire agenda listed on the Orders of the Day unaddressed during the first sitting of the Senate’s 114th session on Monday.
According to Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), with the exception of PTI, parliamentary leaders of all parties were present while leader of the house and the opposition leader attended the entire sitting which continued for 30 minutes.
The sitting witnessed low attendance as 25 Senators (24%) were present at the outset and 62 (60%) were there at the adjournment.
The unaddressed agenda included the introduction of Islamabad Mandatory Vaccination and Protection of Health Workers Bill, 2015 and debate on commenced motions under rule 218 about overall position of education standards in the country at present and performance of Federal Government Hospitals.
The agenda also included discussion on five motions under rule 218 which included the import of LNG in the country, performance of the banking sector, issue of corruption in federal government departments, performance of National Highway Authority and new aviation policy especially the proposal of outsourcing major airports in the country.
The House did not take up four resolutions which were regarding steps for implementation of National Action Plan to counter terrorism, ensuring universal salt iodization to prevent impacts of iodine deficiency, preserving and developing the sacred archaeological sites in the country and development of livestock sector in Balochistan.
However, four newly elected Senators from FATA: Aurangzeb Khan, Momin Khan Afridi, Sajjad Tori and Taj Muhammad Khan Afridi were sworn in on Monday in the Senate session.
