Though the federal cabinet is the top decision making body in the country, the prime minister, who usually chairs its meetings, is not available to explain his government’s policies and actions to both houses of parliament.

He is abroad, attracting investors to the country’s economic potential while terrorists shake the nation, igniting a blame game among the political parties about the efficacy of the National Action Plan (NAP) they had all agreed a year ago to implement to counter terrorism.

Consultations, discussions and reaching a consensus before making critical decisions at the federal level form the core of parliamentary democracy. In constitutional jargon, it is called “collective responsibility”. However, the detractors of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif don’t think he and his government are inspired by the Constitution and it would shock anyone to learn that the prime minister has not held a cabinet meeting for almost six months.

Under the much-amended 1973 Constitution, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) is supposed to meet once every three months to thrash out issues between the federation and its units, but the prime minister, despite repeated requests by the provincial governments, has not convened one for nine months.

And his lack of interest in the National Assembly and the Senate sessions regularly make headlines. Worse, it has a telling impact on the attendance of his PML-N lawmakers.

In the recently-concluded sittings of the National Assembly, proceedings had to be suspended half a dozen times for want of quorum, which is broken if less 86 members in the house of 342 are present. The party has to herd its MNAs in when the government wants crucial legislations passed, like the recent tax amnesty and PIA conversion bills. But just a hint that the top leadership is coming to a session would bring them rushing in on their own.

“Why expect them to bother to take part in debating the subject matter,” commented PTI chief whip in the National Assembly, Dr Shireen Mazari. “They are just following their leader.”

PML-N insiders offer different arguments why PM Nawaz Sharif buffets opposition’s vitriol but stays away from the parliament. For a few of them, the prime minister’s preoccupation with heavier demands on his time makes him skip the parliament. Everyone knows the security and economic problems the country is facing.

“Yes, the perception is that the prime minister is in the wrong and the opposition in the right in criticizing his absence from the parliament. But don’t the critics see the frequency of meetings he has to co-chair with the army chief to oversee the implementation of NAP,” asked a sitting federal cabinet minister who did not wish to be named.

“Then,” he added, “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in one meeting or another most of the times, supervising the progress of power projects.”

However, not just his political opponents but also a significant number of his party lawmakers hold the view that historically the Sharif brothers have preferred to run their show through handpicked bureaucrats and ministers.

According to a disgruntled PML-N MNA, the situation is not much different in Punjab. “Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif too doesn’t bother much about cabinet meetings and attending the provincial assembly,” he said.

Most of the ruling party lawmakers one talks to grumble about the central and provincial leadership not being accessible to them, he said, asking: “Have you ever heard the prime minister chairing the PML-N parliamentary committee meeting? That used to a regular feature for the PPP during last government.”

His colleague interdicted that the Sharif brothers didn’t believe in sharing powers. “But the real problem is that there isn’t much of protest within party against their dictatorial attitude.”

Recently, the opposition sought to amend the rules of procedure and conduct of business of the National Assembly to make the presence of the PM in the house mandatory. But the move was defeated when put to vote.

Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah blamed the prime minister’s close aides for scuttling the move. “They feared that binding the prime minister to attend the assembly would distract his mind which he needs to concentrate on bigger plans.”

But the PPP leader tellingly reminded the treasury benches that it was the parliament that came to the rescue of the prime minister when the PTI-PAT dharna threatened to destabilize the democratic order. At that dark time the prime minister used to attend religiously the emergency joint sitting of the parliament.

Although the opposition-dominated Senate has made changes in its rules of procedure requiring the prime minister to attend at least one sitting of the upper house, there is no hope it will persuade the prime minister to oblige.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2016