Parliamentary riches: Average senator’s wealth rises 67% in 2010

Lawmakers make no attempts to explain sudden rises in net worth.

ISLAMABAD: Even as the economy continues to struggle towards a recovery, Pakistan's lawmakers seem to be doing very well for themselves, with the average senator's net worth jumping by 67.5 per cent during the last fiscal year, according to data made available by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

A comparison between lawmakers' wealth declarations, which are widely believed to be gross understatements, from fiscal year 2010 and 2009 shows that even the allegedly falsified estimates of wealth suggest a systematic and disproportionate increase in wealth across the board.

Nearly none of the lawmakers whose asset declarations were made public by the ECP saw their wealth decline.
While some saw more modest increases, others registered inexplicably sharp increases in their personal net worth.

The average senator's net worth jumped from Rs163 million in 2009 to Rs273 million in 2010, according to their own declarations filed with the ECP.

The data revealed even sharper rises for individual members of Parliament.
Provincial Coordination Minister Senator Raza Rabbani's wealth grew by an astronomical 838 per cent, from Rs6 million in 2009 to Rs56.3 million in 2010. The reasons behind this astounding rise remain unclear.

Law Minister Babar Awan's wealth, by contrast grew by a meagre 4.1 per cent, to Rs409 million. Interior Minister Rehman Malik's increase in wealth was also a relatively t modest 13.8 per cent. Former F Privatisation Minister Senator Waqar Ahmad Khan also c claimed that his assets grew 2 by little more than 8 per cent.

Senator Muhammad Harris Khan saw his assets nearly multiply six-fold, becoming he richest senator from the ederally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). His assets in reased from Rs125 million in 009 to Rs724 million in 2010.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2011.