• Fafen data shows 235 members missed at least one meeting
• 156 lawmakers remained absent without submitting leave applications

ISLAMABAD: Only 78 members of the National Assembly (MNAs) attended every sitting during the budget session last month, while 10 did not attend a single sitting, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

The budget session, which lasted 13 sittings from June 5 to 27, was frequently marred by poor attendance of MNAs, particularly from the treasury side, forcing lawmakers to point out the absence of government ministers.

The protest prompted the speaker to direct government members holding finance-related portfolios to attend the sessions.

Yet the finance minister, who is a senator, attended nine, or 69 per cent of sittings, according to a report released by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen).

The minister of state and parliamentary secretary for finance and revenue, both MNAs, were present in 11 or 85pc of sittings.

Notably, the economic affairs minister, also a senator, did not attend any sitting during the session, despite his portfolio being closely related to issues discussed during the budget session.

According to the report, 83pc of members in the 336-seat house were present on June 10 when the Finance Bill, 2025 was introduced.

However, as the discussion progressed into general topics, attendance declined, reaching its lowest point — 57pc — on the third sitting.

The attendance resurged again at 79pc on the final day of the discussion, which also included deliberations on Senate recommendations and charged expenditures.

A marked increase was observed towards the end of the session, with attendance rising above 9pc during voting on demands for grants and the Finance Bill.

The highest attendance was 93pc, recorded on the day the Finance Bill was passed.

An analysis of the attendance and leave applications read during the proceedings showed 235 members, or 75pc of the current strength, missed at least one sitting during the budget session.

However, only 79 members submitted leave applications for their absence. Of them, 13 applied for leave in advance, while 46 submitted the application while on leave or after returning.

The leave applications of the remaining 20 lawmakers were read on a day falling in the middle of their period of absence.

As many as 46 members sought approval for the entire duration of their absence, while the remaining 36 were absent for longer than the number of days for which they had requested leave.

As many as 156 members remained absent without submitting any application during the session.

A total of 22 female MNAs, including 19 on reserved seats and three on general seats attended all sittings.

Meanwhile, all seven minority members attended more than half of the sittings, including three who attended all sittings.

Among male MNAs elected on general seats, 10 did not attend any sitting, 35 were present in less than half of the sittings and 208 attended more than half of the sittings. Meanwhile, 54 were present in every sitting.

Among the cabinet members, the federal ministers for parliamentary affairs and public affairs unit attended all sittings.

Likewise, the ministers of state for overseas Pakistanis and human resource development, national food security & research, and religious affairs & interfaith harmony were present throughout the session.

The majority of lawmakers from PML-N, PPP, MQM-P and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) attended more than half of the sittings.

The sole member of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen Pakistan attended every sitting.

Lawmakers from the Balochistan Awami Party, National Party and the PML-Zia attended more than half of the sittings.

The sole representative of the PkMAP attended less than half of the sittings.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025