ECP suspends 271 lawmakers including federal ministers for not submitting assets details
Pakistan
ECP suspends 271 lawmakers including federal ministers for not submitting assets details
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the membership of 271 lawmakers for failing to submit their statement of assets and liabilities.
The lawmakers include 136 members of the National Assembly, 21 senators and 114 members of the provincial assemblies.
The number is significantly higher this year as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) MNAs have resigned from the National Assembly. Last year, the electoral body had suspended the membership of 35 MNAs and three senators.
The membership of 48 MPAs from Sindh, 54 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 12 Balochistan MPAs have been suspended but there is no suspended provincial lawmaker from Punjab as the assembly has been dissolved.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet members – Ahsan Iqbal and Khawaja Asif, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Mufti Abdul Shakoor and Sajid Turi – Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Noor Alam Khan and MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool among the MNAs who has been suspended for to submitting statement of assets and liabilities.
The ECP had directed the lawmakers to submit their financial statements by Jan 16, 2023 and warned of suspending their membership on failing to comply with the instructions.
PTI leader Shaukat Tarin, Rana Mahmood UI Hassan, Aon Abbas, Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, Mohammad Azam Khan Swati, and Sania Nishtar are among the senators, who failed to submit their financial statements.
The Election Commission has forwarded the lists of the suspended members to the respective Speakers of the Houses, asking them to ensure the listed members stop working.
It said the lawmakers cannot participate in parliamentary proceedings and their membership will remain suspended until they submit their statements.
