Only one in five MNAs attended all sittings of latest NA session

ISLAMABAD: Just 66 of the National Assembly’s 333 members attended all nine sittings of the House’s 27th session held from May 11 to May 22, 2026, according to a Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) report released on Tuesday. The attendance review said this amounted to 20 per cent of the current strength of the lower house, while 33 lawmakers, or 10 per cent, did not attend a single sitting.

Fafen said 267 MNAs, or 80 per cent of the house, missed at least one sitting during the session. The first sitting saw the highest attendance, with 249 members present, equal to 75 per cent of the current membership. Attendance fell to its lowest level in the fifth sitting, when 164 MNAs, or 49 per cent, were present.

Among key officeholders, the prime minister did not attend any sitting, while the leader of the opposition was present at all nine. The organisation said its findings were based on official attendance and leave records posted on the National Assembly website. It has been regularly monitoring National Assembly proceedings since 2008 to support transparency and accountability. The house currently has 333 members, with three general seats vacant.

Attendance patterns

66 members were present in all nine sittings, 146 attended between five and eight sittings, 88 attended one to four sittings, and 33 remained absent throughout the session.

In its breakdown by seat type, Fafen said 43 male MNAs elected on general seats did not attend any sitting. The corresponding figures were six women MNAs on reserved seats and two male MNAs on minority seats. Among those with full attendance, 30 were women elected on reserved seats, 20 were male MNAs on general seats and six were female MNAs on general seats.

The report also found that women lawmakers maintained a higher proportionate attendance rate than men in each of the nine sittings. In the opening sitting, 79 per cent of women MNAs were present compared to 73 per cent of male MNAs. In the fifth sitting, which recorded the lowest turnout overall, attendance stood at 55 per cent for women and 48 per cent for men.

Ministers and parliamentary business

Fafen said that among cabinet members drawn from the National Assembly, one federal minister and one minister of state attended all sittings. Two ministers, one federal minister and one minister of state, did not attend any sitting.

During the question hour, 26 federal ministers had been scheduled to answer queries. Of these, 12 were present on the days when questions concerning their ministries were taken up. For the other 14, parliamentary secretaries from eight ministries were present when the relevant questions came before the house.

On calling attention notices, eight ministers were required to make statements, but only three were present in the sitting when notices related to their ministries appeared on the agenda.

Party and leadership breakdown

The National Assembly currently comprises 13 parliamentary parties and 79 independents. Of these, eight parties and four independents sit on the treasury benches, while five parties and 75 independents are in the opposition.

Among the major parties, the PML-N had 13 members who did not attend any sitting, 39 who attended one to four sittings, 51 who attended five to eight sittings and 29 who were present throughout. The PPP had 11 members who did not attend any sitting and 19 who attended all sittings. Among independents, 43 did not attend any sitting, 19 attended one to four sittings, 10 attended five to eight sittings and three attended all sittings.

Among parliamentary party heads, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen Pakistan leader Hameed Hussain attended all nine sittings. PML-N’s Khawaja Muhammad Asif attended seven sittings, Balochistan Awami Party’s Khalid Hussain Magsi attended six, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not attend any sitting.

Leave applications

Fafen also reviewed leave requests from the preceding 26th session. Of the 267 members who missed at least one sitting, only 82 submitted formal leave applications, while 185 remained absent without any formal request.

Of the 82 members who sought leave, 33 per cent submitted their applications in advance, 35 per cent had their applications read out during their leave period, and 32 per cent filed ex-post facto requests. 24 per cent of those who applied for leave remained absent for longer than the period they had requested.