• Leader of the Opposition notified in 23 days compared to 20 months taken by the previous Assembly Speaker
• Standing Committees formed within a month compared to more than a year taken by the previous Assembly
• Election of the Committee Chairs delayed
• National Assembly met for 2 Hours and 45 Minutes per day on the Average which is
• about the same as for the previous Assembly
28 % of the Members� Questions answered; slight improvement to the last Assembly�s average of 21 %
• Government introduced one Bill and tabled 4 Ordinances
• 18 Private Member�s Bills received during the Session

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency � PILDAT issued the roundup of the 4th Session as the National Assembly is set to commence its 5th Session which is also the first Budget Session of the current Assembly. PILDAT Roundup commends the National Assembly Speaker Dr. Fehmida Mirza for early notification of the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition within 23 days of commencing the term of the new Assembly in stark contrast to the previous Assembly when it took around 20 months to notify the Leader of the Opposition. The roundup also lauds the election of all the Standing Committees within a month of the inaugural sitting of the National Assembly again in contrast to the previous Assembly when it had taken more than a year to constitute the committees. PILDAT, however, expressed concern that the delay in electing chairpersons of the committees has withheld the activation of the committees.

PILDAT Roundup noted that the average number of working hours per day still remain on the lower side � 2 hours and forty-five minutes per day. The 4th Session which had started on April 10 and continued up to April 25 lasted for 16 days but actually met for 11 working days for a total of 30 Hours and 10 Minutes. The average working hours per day are almost the same as were calculated for the previous Assembly over its 5-year life.

During the session, 388 Questions were asked by the members out of which 109 or 28 % were answered which is some improvement over the 21 % answering rate during the previous Assembly.

On the legislation side, only one Government Bill proposing amendment to PEMRA Ordinance was introduced which was referred to the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Four Ordinances earlier promulgated by the President of Pakistan were also laid before the House during the session. 18 Private Members� Bills were received during the session indicating healthy legislative activity on the part of the members but none of these bills has been admitted for consideration as yet. During the previous Assembly, only one private member�s bill could be passed during the 5-year term of the Assembly. The overall legislative record of the previous Assembly had also been weak as it had passed just 50 laws in 5 years compared to 73 ordinances promulgated by the President.