ECP suspends membership of 332 lawmakers over failure to submit asset details

Published January 16, 2019
No salary or benefits shall be accrued by the suspended lawmakers, beginning January 16, until the submission of the statements of assets and liabilities. —Dawn.com
No salary or benefits shall be accrued by the suspended lawmakers, beginning January 16, until the submission of the statements of assets and liabilities. —Dawn.com

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday suspended the memberships of 332 members of the parliament and provincial assemblies for failing to submit details of their assets, according to a notification issued by the commission.

The suspended lawmakers include Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, National Health Services Minister Aamer Mehmood Kiani, Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal and BNP-M's Akhtar Mengal.

No salary or benefits shall be accrued by the suspended lawmakers, beginning January 16, until the submission of the statements of assets and liabilities, DawnNewsTV reported.

As per the ECP notification, 72 members of the National Assembly and 20 members of the Senate now stand suspended. It further states that the statement of assets and liabilities of 115 members of the Punjab Assembly, 52 members of the Sindh Assembly, 54 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 19 members of the Balochistan Assembly is also awaited.

The ECP in its notification said that the Elections Act 2017 requires that "every Member of an Assembly and Senate shall submit to the Commission, on or before 31st December each year, a copy of his statement of assets and liabilities including assets and liabilities of his spouse and dependent children".

Those who have failed to submit the details "shall cease to function as members with immediate effect till such statements are submitted by them", the ECP has informed the suspended lawmakers.

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