ECP suspends 139 lawmakers over failing to submit asset declarations

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the membership of 139 members of the national and provincial assemblies and Senate, for failing to submit their annual asset declarations for the fiscal year 2023-24.

After the suspensions of their memberships, they will not be able participate in parliamentary proceedings until they comply with the commission’s requirement, the ECP notified.

The commission had set January 15 as the deadline for submission of asset declarations, and warned that failure to submit accurate information could result into further action. 

Among the suspended 16 members of the National Assembly (MNAs), are Qasim Gillani, Akhtar Mengal, and Tariq Bashir Cheema. Likewise, memberships of two senators, Muhammad Qasim, and Abdul Quddus Bizenjo have also been suspended.

Moreover, among the suspended members of the provincial assemblies are 68 from Punjab, 33 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15 from Sindh, and five from Balochistan.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief and Sindh MPA Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also lost his membership of the Sindh Assembly.

The ECP has officially notified the Senate chairman and speakers of the national and provincial assemblies about the suspensions over the failure to submit asset declarations.

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Earlier, on Jan 10, the ECP notified the registration of Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi’s Awam Pakistan Party, allowing the party to participate in elections.

According to the ECP’s notification, the former premier has been notified as the convener while former finance minister Miftah Ismael is the secretary general of the party.

The ECP accepted the party’s June 26, 2024, report regarding the party’s intra-party elections.

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The party has been allocated a green and blue coloured flag with a white signature of Awam Pakistan Party.

Abbais and Miftah parted ways with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz over political differences.

The newly registered political party has entered Pakistan’s political arena with a motto of ‘Badlengey Nizam” (will change the system).

Earlier, talking to HUM News English, Khaqan Abbasi had asserted that Pakistan needs a fresh political force as existing parties have failed to deliver.