Ex-MNAs given three more days to file asset details

A three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Wednesday gave three more days to the former members of the National Assembly, particularly Hammad Azhar and Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak of the PTI -- to submit their financial statements to the electoral watchdog.

The decision came as Barrister Gohar Ali appeared before the bench on behalf of the PTI and assured it that the remaining former party MNAs would submit their financial statements to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by the end of the day.

He pointed out that Shehryar Khan Afridi, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and other former PTI lawmakers had already submitted their financial statements to the commission.

The bench told him that Hammad Azhar and Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak had yet to file their financial statements.

To this, the lawyer told the bench that their financial statements would be submitted to the ECP by the end of the day. The bench warned that they would give their ruling if the statements were not handed over to the commission.
Later, the bench gave three more days to the MNAs, who had not yet submitted their financial statements to the ECP, to proceed with the move.

It also reserved its judgment in the case.

“As a mandatory requirement under Section 42A of the Representation of the People Act 1976 and Section 25A of the Senate (Elections) Act 1975, all members of parliament and provincial assemblies are required to submit to the ECP annual statements of assets and liabilities of themselves, their spouse and dependents,” said an official of the commission.

In January this year, the ECP suspended the membership of 271 lawmakers over their failure to submit details of their assets and liabilities.

According to details, the election watchdog suspended the membership of the lawmakers after they failed to submit the mandatory statements required to be filed at the end of year.

The parliamentarians suspended by the ECP included 136 members of the National Assembly, 21 from Senate, 54 from K-P Assembly, 48 from Sindh Assembly and 12 from Balochistan Assembly.

A day later, the commission restored the membership of then Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and former PTI dissident lawmaker Noor Alam Khan among 25 parliamentarians in the National Assembly and the Senate as they submitted their annual financial statements.