Pakistani lawmakers suspended for not submitting details of annual assets, liabilities

Islamabad, Jan 16 (PTI) Pakistan’s top election body on Friday suspended 159 federal and provincial lawmakers for their failure to submit details of annual assets and liabilities.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took action after the January 15 deadline for providing the details pertaining to 2025, a mandatory legal requirement for the members of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies.

According to a statement by the ECP, the commission directed that “they shall cease to function as members with immediate effect until such statements are submitted by them.” Earlier, the ECP on Thursday had reminded lawmakers to submit the details of their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouse and dependent children, for the financial year 2024-25, warning of suspension if they failed to do so by January 15.

Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui is among 32 members of the National Assembly whose membership has been suspended, while Musadik Malik, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, is among nine Senators also suspended by the election commission.

Also 50 members of the Punjab Assembly, 33 of the Sindh Assembly, 28 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and seven of the Balochistan Assembly too have been suspended.

The ECP had stated that the submission was a mandatory requirement under Section 137 of the Elections Act, 2017.

However, the membership of the suspended lawmakers would be restored after they submitted the details. PTI SH NPK NPK