Islamabad:
A total of 78 members of the National Assembly (25%) attended all 13 meetings in the 17th (budget) session held from June 5 to June 27, while 10 members (3%) remained absent throughout the session, according to official participation registers.
The session began with strong participation – 83% participation was registered on opening day when Finance Bill 2025 was introduced. However, participation fell to a 57% session low during the third meeting containing general budget discussions. Participation gradually recovered and peaked with 93% on the day when financial bill was adopted. Legislators repeatedly expressed concern about the absence of key ministers during budget debates, prompting the chairman to direct relevant financial portfolio holders to participate.
Registrations show that 235 MNAs (75% of the house) missed at least one meeting. Of these, only 79 (34%) submitted formal leave applications – 13 in advance, while 46 submitted applications after return. Twenty lawmakers had their leave requests read Mid-absence. In particular, 156 members (66% of absent) could apply for leave completely. In addition, six MNAs submitted leave requests for previous sessions.
Participation varied across demographics: Female MNAs: 22 women (41% of all female members) – 19 on reserved and three on general seats – attended all meetings. Minority MNAs: All seven attended more than half of the meetings; Three participated in each session. Male MNAs on general seats: 10 (4%) missed the entire session, 35 (14%) participated in less than half, and 208 (82%) were present in more than half of the meetings, including 54 (21%) with full participation.
Regional participation trends showed Islamabad Capital Territory, which led with 100% participation from all three of its MNAs. Punjab and Sindh followed 85% and 86% of MNAs, respectively, who attended more than half of the meetings. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 39 MNAs attended over half of the meetings, where 15 attended everyone. Balochistan registered 75% participation in the same category.
Party participation was highest among MNAs from PML-N, PPPP, MQMP and SIC, most of which attended more than half of the meetings. The only MWMP legislator marked the full participation. Legislators from BAP, NP and PML-Z were also largely present. However, PKMAP’s only representative participated in less than half of the session.
The “Others” category includes parties with fewer than eight MNAs-such as BAP, MWMP, NP, PKMAP, PML, PML-Z and IPP. GDP’s only member has offered resignation, but it is not yet officially accepted.
In order to prioritize the budget debate, the National Assembly suspended routine procedures, including question time called attention notifications (cans) and public significance. This suspension was approved in the second meeting, although only one of the seven affected ministers was present that day.
