Physical or virtual parliament sitting: MPs upset with constant stay at homes, want physical session

ISLAMABAD: Like the ordinary mortals, the members of Parliament are also fed up with constant stay at homes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic and want “physical session” of the National Assembly instead of virtual sittings.

“You people don’t realise the distress I am undergoing while being restricted to my home for the past few weeks having nothing much do,” a member of the National Assembly, belonging to the ruling coalition, told a parliamentary committee that met to decide whether the House should hold a physical or virtual session, according to a participant.

He stressed that the session should be convened to transact a lot of pending business and to also keep the MPs busy. He said problems would go up for many lawmakers if they remain limited to their homes.

Another participant said that the legislators hailing from Balochistan and remoteareas of Sindh and Punjab would feel difficulty in reaching Islamabad to attend the session, and authorities should facilitate them through different means.

“It is not plausible to keep us away from Parliament for such a long time because the legislature has to do its actual job for which it exists,” the MP said. The participant said that at least two federal ministers, who attended the bipartisan parliamentary committee deliberations having representation of all the major parties, stood for a physical session of the National Assembly in place of video-conferencing.

Among others, cabinet members including Babar Awan, Syed Fakhar Imam, Dr Fehmida Mirza, Ali Muhammad Khan, and Aminul Haq represented the governing alliance. Another lawmaker said that in certain areas, the internet connectivity was a nagging problem. “It will be a futile exercise to hold a virtual session if legislators from such regions would not be able to make any worthwhile contribution.”

Former Speaker and senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, who represented his party in the discussion, told The News that there was not a single voice that supported virtual session and everyone called for the normal sittings to take up the urgent agenda including the law making.

He suggested that when the Supreme Court, high courts, subordinate judiciary, security agencies, the executive and several other departments are working with full or skeleton staff, Parliament should follow suit with the minimum required attendance given the 800 plus seating capacity of the debating hall and its galleries. “It is not difficult to manage a physical session by taking strict precautions necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. Presence of mere 100 plus MPs would be a good idea to do the business. Additionally, the members could be asked to attend the proceedings in rotations.” Ayaz Sadiq told the committee that even in the Second World War British Parliament kept holding its sessions. Same was the case with Turkish Parliament when a coup took place against the incumbent president a few years back; and Iranian Parliament when a large number of its members were killed.

He pointed out that it would be the first time in the history when neither the National Assembly nor the Senate would be able to complete its mandatory number of sittings in the ongoing parliamentary year. A lot of sittings are still needed to be held to meet the constitutional stipulation.

Speaker Asad Qaiser had left it to the parliamentary panel to take a decision about the mode of National Assembly session now and for the approval of the upcoming federal budget.

Ayaz Sadiq said that as the meeting opened, the opposition members sought the government’s stand on holding physical or virtual session. It transpired that all the treasury lawmakers were for the normal session instead of video conferencing, he said.

A proposal was mooted to convene a meeting of the parliamentary leaders to take a decision on the matter, but it was not favoured because the committee unanimously decided that the National Assembly should hold its normal session.

In order to hold virtual sittings, the rules of procedure and conduct of business are required to be amended as they do not provide for such sittings because no such situation like that of COVID-19 pandemic was envisaged when they were framed.