Report highlights 33 legislators skipped all meetings, while 267 members (80% of Parliament) missed at least one meeting
Only 66 members of the 333-member National Assembly attended all nine sessions of the 27th parliamentary session held between May 11 and May 22, 2026, while the prime minister did not attend a single session, according to a report by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
The report highlighted that 33 lawmakers did not attend any meeting during the session, while 267 members – about 80 percent of the House – missed at least one meeting.
Turnout fluctuated across the session, with the first meeting recording the highest turnout of 75 percent (249 members present), while the fifth meeting had the lowest turnout at 49 percent (164 members).
Among key parliamentary officials, the opposition leader attended all nine meetings. In contrast, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif remained absent throughout the session.
Women do better
The report noted that female lawmakers consistently recorded higher participation rates than their male counterparts throughout the session. Among legislators who attended all sessions, 30 were women elected on reserved seats, 20 were men elected on general seats and six were women elected on general seats.
Among the members who did not attend any meeting, on the other hand, 43 were men elected on regular seats, six were women on reserved seats and two were members of minority seats.
Women also maintained a higher presence in both the highest and lowest attended meetings. During the first meeting, 79 percent of female legislators were present, compared to 73 percent of men. During the fifth meeting, attendance was 55 percent for women and 48 percent for men.
Festively
The National Assembly consists of 13 parliamentary parties and 79 independents, with government and opposition benches divided between eight parties plus four independents on the government side and five parties with 75 independents in opposition.
Among the major parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) 132-member parliamentary strength included 29 lawmakers who attended all meetings and 13 who remained absent throughout. Another 51 attended five to eight meetings, and 39 attended between one and four meetings.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), with 74 members, recorded eight legislators with perfect attendance and eight who did not attend any meeting. Another 39 attended five to eight meetings and 19 attended one to four meetings.
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Among the 79 independents, 19 attended all meetings, 43 attended five to eight meetings, 10 attended one to four meetings, and seven did not attend any meetings.
of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) 22 members included three with perfect attendance, seven who attended five to eight meetings, 11 who attended one to four meetings and one member who remained absent throughout.
Similarly, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan’s (JUI-P) 10-member strength included three members with full attendance, four who attended five to eight meetings, two who attended one to four meetings and one who did not attend meetings.
Among 16 legislators belonging to minor parties grouped under the “Others” category, four attended all meetings, two attended five to eight meetings, seven attended one to four meetings, and three remained absent.
Federal ministers
A total of 26 federal ministers were scheduled to answer during Question Time. However, only 12 attended the meetings, where issues relating to their ministries were listed. For the remaining 14 ministries, the secretaries of the Folketing represented their respective ministries when questions were dealt with.
Eight ministers were also required to make statements on calls for attention, but only three were present when announcements relating to their ministries came before Parliament.
Among the parliamentary party leaders, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen’s Hameed Hussain attended all nine meetings.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif attended seven meetings, Balochistan Awami Party chief Khalid Hussain Magsi attended six, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not attend any meeting.
Leaves
FAFEN found that of the 267 members who missed at least one meeting, only 82 submitted formal leave applications, while 185 remained absent without any official request.
Of those who applied for leave, only 33 percent submitted applications in advance, 35 percent had their requests read during the leave period, and 32 percent submitted applications after the absence had already occurred.
The report further noted that 24 percent of those who sought leave remained absent for longer than originally requested.
