National Assembly passes seven bills, then suspends sitting over quorum
Opposition lawmaker pointed out the lack of quorum, and a resolution on Indian actions in Kashmir was left pending as the house adjourned, Dawn reported
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly passed seven bills on Monday before suspending its proceedings after an opposition lawmaker pointed out that the house lacked quorum, Dawn reported.
The sitting was marked by low attendance by members and the absence of ministers, according to the report. It was the second time proceedings were halted over quorum in the same session, Dawn said.
Among the legislation cleared was the Pakistan Study Centres (Amendment) Bill 2026, the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Travel Agencies (Amendment) Bill 2026. Dawn's account named those three and said seven bills in total were passed, without listing the remaining four. The report did not set out the contents of the bills or say how the parties voted.
A resolution against what Dawn described as India's atrocities and unlawful acts in the held Kashmir was also listed but could not be put to the house. It was set aside when the sitting was suspended on the quorum point, the report said. Dawn did not name the opposition member who raised the quorum issue, and did not record any response from the government benches or from the speaker.
The episode underlines how thinly attended the current assembly's sittings have been, with treasury members and ministers frequently missing from the benches. Under the rules, a member may draw the chair's attention to the absence of quorum, and the sitting cannot proceed until the required number of lawmakers is present.
No date was given for when the pending resolution or the remaining business would be taken up. Dawn's report also did not say whether the seven bills had been sent to the Senate, where they would need approval before going to the president for assent.
The National Assembly's next sitting and the fate of the Kashmir resolution were not immediately clear from the reports available. An aggregator site, Ua.News, carried the same development under the headline that the assembly had passed seven bills, crediting Dawn.
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