ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has been a rarity in the meetings of Finance Committee of the National Assembly and has not attended a single meeting of the committee since assuming his office.

A meeting of the finance committee presided over by Asad Umar was informed that the advisor on finance attended only three meetings each in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. The meeting was further told that a total of 62 meetings of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly had been held between 2008 and 2013 and then finance minister/advisor turned up seven times in the meeting and 18 meetings were attended by minister of state for finance.

The committee was informed that a total of 72 meetings of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly had been held from 2013 to 2018 and three meetings were attended by former finance minister Ishaq Dar. When Miftah Ismail was finance minister, eight meetings of the finance committee were held and not a single meeting was attended by him.

During 2018-19, a total of 23 meetings of the finance committee have taken place with 10 when Asad Umar was finance minister and 13 during the tenure of Hafeez Shaikh. Asad Umar attended two meetings and Hammad Azhar attended only one meeting.—ZAHEER ABBASI