PESHAWAR: Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen)hasobservedthatthe budget session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was marked by low interest of lawmakers and 75 per cent of the MPAs remained inactive during the session.

In a statement, the organisation that monitors parliamentary businesses in the parliament as well as four provincial assemblies reported that 92 members (75 per cent of the current membership 123) did not contribute to the budget debate.

Ten female lawmakers were from PTI followed by JUI-F (three), PML-N and QWP-S (two each) and one each of AJIP, ANP, JI and PPP. Similarly, of the 71 male members not participating in the budget debate, 37 belonged to PTI followed by JUI-F and PML-N (eight each), QWP-S (seven), AJIP (four), JI (three), A NP (two), PPPP (one) and an independent lawmaker.

Of the 31 members who took part in the budget debate, only one was female.

The only woman lawmaker from PML-N debated the budget for 15 minutes whereas male lawmakers debated it for 659 minutes.

The minister for finance presented the annual budget 2016-17 as well as the supplementary budget statement for the year 2015-16 during the first sitting.

He took 104 minutes to present the budget. The leader of the opposition opened the budget debate in the second sitting and spoke for 52 minutes.

The assembly passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Bill, 2016 during its sixth sitting and several treasury members left the House when the motion was being moved to pass the bill.-Bureau Report