Budget 2020-21: SOPs in place during National Assembly session

The government and opposition reached on the consensus that only a maximum of 86 members (one-fourth of the total 342-member house), 46 from the treasury and 40 from the opposition, will be present in the National Assembly at one time.

This move is taken in order to ensure social distancing to curb the spread of coronavirus by implementing SOPs.

According to the terms of the agreement, the members and the staff of the National Assembly Secretariat who have not got themselves tested for the novel coronavirus also known as COVID-19 would not be allowed to enter the assembly hall.

In addition to this, it has been decided that the proceedings of the house will continue for a maximum of three hours daily until June 30 2020.

Furthermore, the agreement detailed that party chiefs would be responsible for presenting the lists of the attending members on a particular day and only those members would be permitted to come to the house whose names were present in the lists.

Moreover, the terms of the agreement stated that there would be no need for the members to come to the assembly hall for attendance as they could mark their attendance at the main entrance, known as Gate No 1.

However, terming it “unconstitutional and illegal” the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has not only rejected the agreement but also its members staged a sit-in in front of the dais of the speaker of the National Assembly to protest the removal of their chairs from the house as only 86 chairs were placed in the house after the agreement.