30pc of MNAs record ‘perfect attendance’ in National Assembly budget session; 2pc skip all
ISLAMABAD: Ninety-nine members of the National Assembly, or 30 per cent of the House, attended all 15 sittings of the 28th session, while six MNAs, or 2pc, did not attend any sitting, a Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) report released for the budget session revealed.
The 15-sitting session from June 10 to 24 had 333 members, with three general seats vacant. Overall, 234 MNAs, or 70pc, skipped at least one sitting, the report stated.
The 13th sitting, which saw voting on demands for grants and consideration of a standing committee report on the budget for FY27, recorded the highest attendance of 75pc, with 300 MNAs present.
According to Fafen, 191 members were present between eight and 14 sittings, while as many as 37 members attended between one and seven sittings.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended six sittings during the session, while Leader of the Opposition Mehmood Khan Achakzai attended 12.
Among cabinet members from the NA, six federal ministers and three ministers of state attended all sittings. The lowest attendance was of Communications Minister Aleem Khan, who was present in the House in eight sessions.
Among parliamentary party leaders, PML-N’s Khawaja Asif attended all sittings, as well as Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen’s Hameed Hussain (MWM), National Party’s Pullain Baloch, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Khalid Hussain Magsi, and PML-Z’s Ijazul Haq.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari attended four sittings, while Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was present in just two sittings.
The ruling party PML-N’s 48 lawmakers were in full attendance out of 132 MNAs, while 15 of PPP’s 74 leaders were present during all sittings.
Out of 75 independents — which include four who sit on the government benches — 27 MNAs attended all 15 sittings.
Regionally, 53 MNAs from Punjab recorded “perfect attendance”, followed by 25 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Six lawmakers from Punjab did not attend any sitting.
Female lawmakers recorded higher proportionate attendance than male colleagues across all 15 sittings, Fafen noted.
Out of the 10 cabinet members who were scheduled for Question Hour, six attended, while parliamentary secretaries attended the remaining ones. Two out of four ministers required for Calling Attention Notices appeared.
Fafen noted that in the preceding session of the NA, 267 members, or 80pc, missed at least one sitting. Only 102, or 38pc, submitted formal leave applications, while 165, or 62pc, were absent without one.
It said the report relied on official attendance and leave records published on the NA’s website and aimed to promote transparency and accountability of elected representatives.
