NA legislation remains slow in first parliamentary year.

ISLAMABAD -- Although the joint opposition got almost 60 per cent time in the current 15th National Assembly, during one and half years, but it could manage to get only one bill passed out of 64 private members' bills introduced in the house.

Whereas PTI government, with majority of votes, managed to get passed 23 bills out of 34 bills introduced during the same period.

The figures [from the start of first parliamentary year till December 2019] available with The Nation, revealed that PTI government with its coalition partners got almost 40 percent time for legislation and speeches on different matter. Likewise, opposition was given floor for 60 per cent of the total time during almost one and half years.

According to legislative business of current National Assembly [till December], as many as 29 resolutions were accepted by the House. The government side presented 20 resolutions and opposition moved nine on different issues.

The pace of legislation remained slow till end of the first parliamentary year [ended on 12 August], as the government side could managed to introduce only 21 bills and only nine were passed from the house. Out of nine bills, only seven became act of the parliament. The government laid four ordinances and 26 resolutions were adopted in first parliamentary year.

The available figures show that 720 starred questions and 110 un-starred questions were moved during the question-hour session of the National Assembly during this period. The assembly, in this period, experienced delay of five months and 23 days in formation of its standing committees.

The opposition parties, in most of the sittings, engaged in worst kind of verbal brawls with government members. The opposition members staged protests and walkouts on non-issuance of production order for their party members. The other walkouts and protests were observed on price-hike, inflation and some other matters.

In a significant development, the opposition compelled government to withdraw nine ordinances passed from the house without proper legislation. The government side had to refer these bills to the standing...

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