Declaration of assets: Majority of legislators yet to file returns

Last date for submitting assets and liabilities statement is Sept 30.

ISLAMABAD:

Out of 1,166 legislators from the Senate, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies, only 245 have submitted statements of their assets as the last date, September 30, approaches.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued another reminder to lawmakers to file returns by the deadline.

The ECP sources said a total of 245 legislators – 72 MNAs, 35 Senators, 100 Punjab Assembly MPAs, 25 Sindh MPAs, 5 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPAs and eight Balochistan MPAs had filed their annual returns.

The total strength of Senate, National and provincial assemblies is 1,174 of which 8 seats are vacant. Hence 1,166 members have to submit the required details.



As per Constitution, members of the Parliament and provincial assemblies are required to submit to the ECP by September 30, yearly statements of their assets and liabilities, as well as their spouses’ and dependents’.

Although it is mandatory, it has never been implemented in its true spirit. The ECP has no mechanism to verify these returns and usually publishes them in an official gazette.

On October 15, the commission publishes the names of those who do not submit their details and notifies them as non-functional but restores them as soon as they submit these statements.

However, no statement of any assembly member has ever been verified. Usually the legislators under value their assets and in many cases it seems they make a mockery of the law.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2013.