Over 16% of lawmakers in the National Assembly were absent from all seven sittings of the recent session held between February 2 and February 12. The 24th session of the National Assembly witnessed low attendance from members across party lines. Out of the 332 total members, 52 (16%) attended all sittings, while 54 (16%) did not attend any. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was notably absent from a sitting during the session, while the opposition leader actively participated in all sittings before staging a sit-in outside the parliament, as reported by the independent entity FAFEN.
The data shows that the first sitting had the highest attendance with 219 MNAs present (66% of the current membership), while the third sitting had the lowest attendance with 110 MNAs present (33%). Among cabinet members, two federal ministers attended all sittings, while nine ministers (six federal ministers and three ministers of state) did not attend any sitting. A total of 280 MNAs (84%) missed at least one sitting. During Question Hour, only six out of 19 federal ministers scheduled to respond were present on the required day. Additionally, of the three ministers tasked with making statements on Calling Attention Notices, one federal minister and one minister of state were present, with the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs covering one CAN instead of the relevant minister, according to data compiled by the independent entity.
