ISLAMABAD, August 11, 2017: The young lawmakers in the National Assembly actively participated in the House business by sponsoring 51 legislative proposals, 19 resolutions, 57 Calling Attention Notices (CANs), and asking 545 questions for the oversight of the government during fourth parliamentary year.

In connection with the International Youth Day, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Friday released a report on the performance of 78 young lawmakers who are below the age of 40 years and are also the members of Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF) of the National Assembly. The report analyses the performance of the young lawmakers during fourth parliamentary year of the National Assembly.

Pakistan has a large section of young population and their representation in the legislatures has also increased in recent years. The annual performance statistics showed that as many as 55 out of 78 young lawmakers took part in the proceedings during fourth parliamentary year of the National Assembly (June 2016 – May 2017). The remaining lawmakers did not contribute to the agenda as well as the debates of the House. Majority of the non-participating lawmakers (17) belonged to PML-N while three of them were associated with PPPP and one each with MQM, PML-F and Independent group.

The data revealed that the young lawmakers mostly contribute agenda in collaboration with their senior colleagues. They sponsored 100 agenda items in collaboration with their senior lawmakers and 42 on their own. The young lawmakers participated in the legislation as well as oversight functions of the government.

The MQM young lawmakers were more active in proposing legislation and asking questions than their counterparts from other parliamentary parties. They sponsored 28 Private Member’s bills and submitted 241 questions during the reporting period. As many as 16 young lawmakers expressed interest in sponsoring legislation, 14 in moving resolutions, 20 in asking questions and 30 in raising Calling Attention Notices. Moreover, 43 lawmakers took part in the discussions held in the House during the fourth year.

The National Assembly held 97 regular sittings during the fourth parliamentary year while both Houses of the Parliament had five joint sittings. According to official attendance statistics available on the website of the Assembly, on average, every young lawmaker attended 54 out of 102 sittings. Ms. Aliya Kamran who belongs to JUI-F Balochistan was most punctual member who remained present in 101 (99%) sittings. On the other hand, Mr. Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N lawmaker from the Punjab, was the least punctual among young lawmakers by attending only three sittings. Out of 78, 49 young lawmakers attended more than 51 (50%) sittings. The detailed findings of the report are given below:

As many as 58 young lawmakers have been elected to the National Assembly for the first time. The average age of these lawmakers is 36 years while seven MNAs are under thirty years of age. Majority of these lawmakers are related to agriculture by profession and hold Bachelor’s degree. Among major parliamentary parties, MQM has highest percentage (33%) of young lawmakers followed by PTI (30%), PPPP and PML-N (22% each). Out of 19 parliamentary parties including independents, only nine has young lawmakers. The lawmakers belonging to smaller parties JI, PKMAP, PML, ANP PML-Z, APML, QWP-S, BNP-A, AJIP and AMLP are all above forty years of age.

To download complete report, click here