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Completing its five year term, the 13th National Assembly achieved a legislative agendawhich altered the countrys governance structure by ensuring provincial autonomy andrestoring the 1973 Constitution, and promoted womens empowerment, says a ree and air!lection Networ" #A!N$ report on the five years performance of the lower house%

The lower house elected a woman speaker for the first time in Pakistans parliamentary history andthe President addressed the joint sessions of the parliament for five consecutive years. Following theestablished parliamentary tradition, the Leader of the pposition was elected as chairman of thePublic !ccounts "ommittee.

#n $% regular sessions, the &ational !ssembly held $'( sittings ) (%% in the first, (%* in the second,(%+ in the third, (% in the fourth and (%% in the fifth parliamentary year.

The &ational !ssembly witnessed a historic change in the rules of procedure to allow standingcommittees to scrutinise ministerial budgetary proposals before being made part of the federalbudget.

! new leader of the house was elected in the fifth parliamentary year after the -upreme "ourtdisualified /ousuf 0a1a 2ilani in a contempt of court case. -imilarly, in the fifth parliamentary year,(( 3&!s resigned on account of holding dual nationalities. &ine members of the lower house diedduring the five years, including 3inister for 3inorities !ffairs -hahba1 4hatti who was assassinatedin #slamabad.

&egislation

#n the five parliamentary years, the &ational !ssembly passed (56 bills 7 (( government and (+private members bills. ut of these, +( became acts of Parliament.

Though the &ational !ssembly passed only five bills in the first parliamentary year, the legislation

picked up pace in the second, third, fourth and fifth parliamentary years, with the lower housepassing 5', 5(, '8, and 5* bills respectively. ut of the total passed government bills, $ soughtamendments in the e9isting laws and the rest were new bills.

These included the (+th and '%th constitutional amendment bills, which helped restored the (8*5"onstitution, ensured provincial autonomy and gave Pakistan a consensus mechanism for civiliantransfer of power democratically, besides the formation of the full five:member ;lection "ommissionof Pakistan.

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introduced the most number of private members bills >' or 55?@ followed by $5 each by Pakistan3uslim League 7 &awa1 >P3L:&@ and Pakistan 3uslim League 7 Auaid >P3L:A@ legislators.

'udget

The debate on budget lasted for +' sittings during the five parliamentary years 7 (8 in the first, (6 inthe second, '' in the third, (* in the fourth and (% sittings in the fifth. n average, the budget debatelasted ( sittings in each parliamentary year.

(esolutions

ut of total '65 resolutions moved in the lower house in these five years, +$ were adopted. -i9resolutions on womens rights and five each on minorities rights and blasphemy were adopted.-imilarly, the lower house adopted resolutions on a host of issues such as 4alochistan, increase inprices of petroleum products, child rights, killing of polio workers and journalists, democracy, attackon 3alala /ousuf1ai, terrorism, human rights, situation in -wat, &atos attack on -alala check post,targeted killings, missing persons, the killing of sama bin Laden and creation of new provinces.

)uestion hour

#n the five parliamentary years, '( legislators asked (,%$ uestions on the floor of the house, onaverage 5,'(( uestions every year. The government fully responded to (','5 uestions, with5,5$* ueries remaining ignored, + receiving partial answers, si9 withdrawn and two lapsed. #nother words the government responded fully to *8? of the total uestions submitted.

The main opposition P3L:& asked the most uestions, 8,8%5, which is ' per cent of the totaluestions. 3ore active in their oversight role, '% female legislators from P3L:& asked $,56*uestions 7 on average each of them asking '*.

verall, $$ female legislators asked +,(5+ uestions compared to (( male lawmakers asking *,8(+uestions in the five years. Bomen parliamentarians elected on reserved seats fulfilled theiroversight role, as they submitted almost 6+ per cent of the total uestions.

Calling attention notices

Curing the five parliamentary years, legislators brought to the

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! total of 5(( lawmakers spoke on scores of constituency, national and international issues through$,%88 points of order in the five years.