ISLAMABAD, Jan 08 (NNI): Starting 25 minutes behind schedule, the seventh sitting of the National Assembly’s 17th session was marked by thin attendance with only 37 lawmakers (11%) present at the start and 23 (7%) at the end, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its daily factsheet.

The quorum was visibly lacking at various stages of the sitting. However, it was not pointed out by any of the members.

Five lawmakers discussed a motion under Rule 259 regarding the deadly attack inPeshawar for 73 minutes. Two PML-N lawmakers spoke for 26 minutes, followed by one legislator each from PPPP (22), APML (14) and MQM (11).

The House did not take up two calling attention notices (CANs) regarding lack of civil amenities in Sultanpur village in Havelian, Abbottabad and theft of crude oil worth over Rs20 billion from Karak Oil Field.

The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader did not attend the sitting. The entire opposition staged a walkout for five minutes at 1249 hours against a report of taking back 650MW electricity from Karachi Electric Supply Company. NNI