NA session April 7-14, 2025: Only 23% MNAs attend all sittings, PM skips entire session: Fafen

ISLAMABAD: Just 73 Members of the National Assembly (23pc) attended all five sittings of the 15th session of the National Assembly, held from April 7 to 14, 2025, while 49 lawmakers (16pc) failed to attend a single session, according to Fafen’s Attendance Report Card.

The report highlights a stark contrast in leadership engagement, noting that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not attend any sitting, whereas the Leader of the Opposition participated in three sittings (60pc).

Unlike previous sessions, gender-wise attendance patterns showed mixed trends during the reporting session.

In the first and second sitting, male members had higher attendance than their female counterparts. However, in the third, fourth, and fifth sittings, female members’ attendance surpassed that of male members. Overall, the attendance patterns indicated a declining trend as the session progressed.

The highest attendance was recorded during the first sitting, with 202 members (65pc of the current membership) present. Despite the strong attendance, most of the scheduled business remained unaddressed. Instead, the lawmakers discussed the issue of new canals on the Indus River through points of order.

The lowest attendance was observed during the fourth sitting, with only 144 members (46pc) present. The sitting was initially adjourned after just 13 minutes when a lawmaker from the Sunni Ittehad Council pointed out the quorum, prompting a 30-minute suspension by the speaker.

Upon re-assembling, the quorum was still not met, leading the deputy speaker to adjourn the sitting.

According to Fafen’s analysis of the attendance and the leave applications read during the proceedings showed that 240 members — 77pc of the current strength — missed at least one sitting during the current session.

However, only 60 (25pc of 240) submitted an application seeking leave from the House for their absence. Amongst these 60, 26 (43pc of applicants) applied for leave in advance, while 18 (30pc of applicants) applied ex-post facto after returning from their leaves.

The leave applications of the remaining 16 (27pc) applicants were read on a day falling in the middle of their period of absence. As many as 45 members (75pc of applicants) sought approval for the entire duration of their absence, while the remaining 15 (25pc) were absent for a longer period than the number of days for which they had requested leave.

As many as 180 members (75pc of those skipping at least one sitting) remained absent without submitting any application during the session. As many as eight MNAs applied for leave of the House for staying absent during the previous session(s).

A total of 20 female MNAs attended all sittings, including 18 on reserved seats and two on general seats (38pc of the total female membership).

As many as five female MNAs (9pc) — three on general seats and two on a reserved seat — recorded zero attendance.

Among seven minority members, four attended more than half of the sittings, including two who attended all the sittings. As many as three members attended less than half of the sittings.

Among male MNAs elected on general seats, 44 (18pc) did not attend any sitting, 61 (24pc) were present in less than half of the sittings and 146 (58pc) attended more than half of the sittings, including 51 (20pc), who were present during all sittings.

Regionally, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) recorded the highest percentage of MNAs attending more than half of the sittings.

In total, all three (100pc) MNAs from ICT, 38 (81pc) from KP, 10 (53pc) from Balochistan, 90 (55pc) from Punjab and 39 (50pc) from Sindh attended more than half of the sittings.

However, three lawmakers from KP (6pc), 34 (21pc) from Punjab, nine (12pc) from Sindh, and three (16pc) from Balochistan did not attend any sittings.

The majority of independent lawmakers, and those belonging to Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) attended more than half of the sittings.

Smaller parliamentary parties with only one member, including Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen Pakistan (MWMP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) attended all sittings.

The sole lawmaker of from the National Party (NP) and Pakistan Muslim League Zia (PMLZ) each attended more than half of the sittings.

Among the 29 federal ministers, who were expected to be present during the Question Hour to respond to queries related to their ministries, only 12 (41pc) were marked present during the sittings where their presence was required.

As many as 17 ministers (59pc) did not attend any of the sittings when their presence was required. In their absence, another cabinet colleague or relevant parliamentary secretary responded to the questions on their behalf.

The federal ministers for parliamentary affairs, public affairs unit, housing and works, and science and technology attended all sittings. Similarly, the ministers of state for railways, federal education and professional training also attended all sittings.