Fafen report shows 30pc of MNAs attended every National Assembly budget sitting

ISLAMABAD: A Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) report on the National Assembly’s 28th session has found that 99 lawmakers, or 30 per cent of the house, maintained full attendance during the 15 sittings held from June 10 to 24, while six members did not attend any sitting.

The budget session was held with 333 members, as three general seats were vacant. Overall, 234 MNAs, or 70pc of the house, missed at least one sitting. According to the attendance breakdown, 191 members were present in between eight and 14 sittings, while 37 attended only one to seven sittings.

Fafen said the 13th sitting recorded the highest attendance of the session, with 300 MNAs present, amounting to 75pc of the house. That sitting included voting on demands for grants and consideration of a standing committee report on the budget for FY27.

Attendance of key leaders and ministers

Among senior figures, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended six sittings, while Leader of the Opposition Mehmood Khan Achakzai was present in 12. The report also reviewed attendance among cabinet members from the National Assembly, noting that six federal ministers and three ministers of state attended all sittings. Communications Minister Aleem Khan had the lowest attendance among them, with presence in eight sessions.

Among parliamentary party leaders, PML-N’s Khawaja Asif attended all 15 sittings. Full attendance was also recorded by Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen’s Hameed Hussain, National Party’s Pullain Baloch, Balochistan Awami Party’s Khalid Hussain Magsi, and PML-Z’s Ijazul Haq. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari attended four sittings, while Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was present in two.

Party and regional patterns

48 of the PML-N’s 132 MNAs attended every sitting. From the PPP, 15 of 74 lawmakers maintained complete attendance. Of the 75 independents, including four who sit on the treasury benches, 27 were present throughout the session.

Region-wise, Punjab had the highest number of lawmakers with full attendance at 53, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 25. Fafen also noted that six lawmakers from Punjab did not attend any sitting of the session.

Women lawmakers posted a higher proportionate attendance rate than their male colleagues across all 15 sittings.

Question Hour and comparison with previous session

Fafen said that out of 10 cabinet members scheduled for Question Hour, six attended, while the remaining appearances were covered by parliamentary secretaries. Two of the four ministers required for Calling Attention Notices appeared in the house.

The organisation compared the findings with the preceding National Assembly session, when 267 members, or 80pc, missed at least one sitting. Of those absences, only 102 members, or 38pc, submitted formal leave applications, while 165, or 62pc, were absent without one.

Fafen said its assessment was based on official attendance and leave records available on the National Assembly website and that the report was intended to support transparency and accountability of elected representatives.