The report highlights that 33 lawmakers skipped all sessions, while 267 members (80 percent of the House) missed at least one session.
Only 66 members of the 333-member National Assembly attended the nine sittings of the 27th parliamentary session held between May 11 and 22, 2026, while the Prime Minister did not attend any sessions, according to a report by the Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN).
The report highlights that 33 MPs did not attend any sittings during the session, while 267 members, or about 80 percent of the House, missed at least one sitting.
Attendance fluctuated throughout the session, with the first session seeing the highest attendance, at 75 percent (249 members present), while the fifth session saw the lowest attendance, at 49 percent (164 members).
Among the main parliamentary officials, the leader of the opposition attended all nine sessions. On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif remained absent throughout the session.
Women outperform
The report notes that female parliamentarians consistently recorded higher attendance rates than their male counterparts throughout the session. Of the legislators who attended all sessions, 30 were women elected from reserved seats, 20 were men elected from general seats, and six were women elected from general seats.
In contrast, of the members who did not attend any sessions, 43 were men elected to general seats, six were women to reserved seats and two were members of minorities.
Women also maintained a higher participation rate in both the most and least attended sessions. During the first session, 79 percent of women parliamentarians were present, compared to 73 percent of men. In the fifth session, participation was 55 percent women and 48 percent men.
Party side
The National Assembly includes 13 parliamentary parties and 79 independents, with government and opposition seats split between eight parties plus four independents on the government side and five parties with 75 independents in opposition.
Among the major parties, the 132-member Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) included 29 lawmakers who attended all sessions and 13 who remained absent throughout. Another 51 attended five to eight sessions, and 39 attended between one and four sessions.
The 74-member Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) recorded eight MPs with perfect attendance and eight who did not attend any session. Another 39 people attended five to eight sessions and 19 attended one to four sessions.
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Of the 79 independents, 19 attended all sessions, 43 attended five to eight sessions, 10 attended one to four sessions, and seven attended no sessions.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) 22 members including three with perfect attendance, seven who attended five to eight sessions, 11 who attended one to four sessions and one member who remained absent for the entire duration.
Similarly, the 10-member strength of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-P) included three members with full attendance, four who attended five to eight sessions, two who attended one to four sessions and one who did not attend any sessions.
Of the 16 smaller party legislators grouped in the “Other” category, four attended all sessions, two attended five to eight sessions, seven attended one to four sessions, and three remained absent.
Federal ministers
A total of 26 federal ministers were expected to respond during question time. However, only 12 of them attended the sessions during which issues relating to their ministry were listed. For the remaining 14 ministries, parliamentary secretaries represented their respective ministries when issues were discussed.
Eight ministers were also required to make statements on the call for attention notices, but only three were present when the notices relating to their ministries were presented to the House.
Among parliamentary party leaders, Mahmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and Hameed Hussain of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen attended all nine sessions.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif attended seven sessions, Balochistan Awami Party chief Khalid Hussain Magsi attended six, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari did not attend any sessions.
Leaves
FAFEN found that of the 267 members who missed at least one session, only 82 submitted a formal request for authorization, while 185 remained absent without any official request.
Of those who requested leave, only 33 percent filed their request in advance, 35 percent had their request read during the leave period, and 32 percent filed a request after the absence.
The report further notes that 24 percent of those requesting leave were absent for a longer period than initially requested.
