The National Assembly’s twelfth (budget) session was marked by the approval of the federal budget for the fiscal year 2014-15. The House passed the Finance Bill after incorporating 43% of the recommendations proposed by the Senate. Other legislations, including the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2014, were also passed amid protests and low attendance of members.

The session, comprising 14 sittings, started with the introduction of the Finance Bill in the first sitting. As many as 140 out of 340 lawmakers (41%) participated in the general discussion on the budget. Although nearly the same number of members had debated the budget last year, the discussion consumed 60% of the session as compared to 38% last year. A change in trend was witnessed as women parliamentarians spoke more actively in proportion to their strength in the House – 35 (58%) female MNAs shared their views on the Finance Bill as compared to 105 (39%) male members.

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