15th session: NA set to meet today in shadow of suspensions
Some 31 lawmakers have not submitted details of their assets to the ECP
ISLAMABAD:
The 15th session of the lower house of parliament is due to convene on Monday despite the suspension of dozens of lawmakers by the country’s election supervisory body.
The National Assembly session comes at a time when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has temporarily suspended the membership of 31 parliamentarians until they submit details of their assets.
Last month, parliamentarians were directed to submit a statement of their assets and liabilities but a total of 39 lawmakers, 22 of them from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), failed to submit the annual details to the poll supervisory body within the stipulated time period.
Interestingly, among those who have not submitted details of their assets are eight members from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party which has been ramping up pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari to disclose their financial details.
Commenting on the issue, a senior ECP official told The Express Tribune on Sunday that the poll body had followed the rules and notified the names of members of National Assembly who failed to file their statements.
He added that the poll body has directed that they shall cease to function with immediate effect till such statements are submitted.
Responding to a question, he said that “there is not a single precedent when all MPs submitted their declarations on time.”
He revealed that the number of those who fail to submit details has always been more than 100 but this time the figure has risen to 209.
Following the suspension, eight members from NA, 12 from Punjab Assembly, two from Sindh Assembly, one from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan have submitted their declarations.
To another question, he said that the ECP had proposed amendments in the laws so that the election laws were followed and implemented in letter and spirit.
Sharing details of the proposed amendment, he said that “the ECP has proposed that once the deadline is missed, membership should be suspended for two months.”
According to the existing laws, the membership of MPs is restored immediately once their assets details are shared.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2014.
The 15th session of the lower house of parliament is due to convene on Monday despite the suspension of dozens of lawmakers by the country’s election supervisory body.
The National Assembly session comes at a time when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has temporarily suspended the membership of 31 parliamentarians until they submit details of their assets.
Last month, parliamentarians were directed to submit a statement of their assets and liabilities but a total of 39 lawmakers, 22 of them from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), failed to submit the annual details to the poll supervisory body within the stipulated time period.
Interestingly, among those who have not submitted details of their assets are eight members from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party which has been ramping up pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari to disclose their financial details.
Commenting on the issue, a senior ECP official told The Express Tribune on Sunday that the poll body had followed the rules and notified the names of members of National Assembly who failed to file their statements.
He added that the poll body has directed that they shall cease to function with immediate effect till such statements are submitted.
Responding to a question, he said that “there is not a single precedent when all MPs submitted their declarations on time.”
He revealed that the number of those who fail to submit details has always been more than 100 but this time the figure has risen to 209.
Following the suspension, eight members from NA, 12 from Punjab Assembly, two from Sindh Assembly, one from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan have submitted their declarations.
To another question, he said that the ECP had proposed amendments in the laws so that the election laws were followed and implemented in letter and spirit.
Sharing details of the proposed amendment, he said that “the ECP has proposed that once the deadline is missed, membership should be suspended for two months.”
According to the existing laws, the membership of MPs is restored immediately once their assets details are shared.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2014.