Assets and liabilities: Many Balochistan MPAs ‘do not possess own cars’

This they have claimed in asset details filed to poll body; PML-Q man tops rich list

QUETTA:

A majority of the Balochistan Assembly members, including Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, have declared that they do not own a vehicle for travel, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) stated as the MPAs revealed their assets and liabilities for 2014.

According to the ECP’s official website, Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch, tribal elders and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leaders Nawab Ayaz Jogezai and Sardar Raza Mohammed Badech, JUI-F leader and former senior provincial minister Maulana Abdul Wasay, former caretaker chief minister Saleh Bhootani, and BNP leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal are among those who do not own a personal vehicle.

Adviser to the Chief Minister Khalid Langov, Health Minister Rehmat Saleh, Haji Mohammed Islam of ANP, Mir Kareem Nausherwani and other many members also stated that they do not have personal car. Information Minister Rahim Ziaratwal does not own a personal vehicle but holds Rs1.8 million in his bank account, agricultural land worth Rs140 million, Rs600,000 in jewelry and furniture, a 7 million-rupee house in Quetta and a house worth Rs800,000 in Sibi. He stated that he does not own a home in his constituency of Ziarat.

PML-Q’s Jaffar Mondokhail is the richest parliamentarian in the provincial assembly with over Rs518 million in assets and liabilities, including agricultural lands, houses, properties and vehicles.  Independent candidate Ghulam Dastageer Badini was found to possess the least assets, with a declaration of Rs1.5 million. The JUI-F’s Ghulab Khan and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen’s Agha Raza Mohammed also own fewer assets than other MPAs, it was found.

Former provincial minister belonging to the National Party (NP) Sardar Aslam Bizenjo owns a car worth Rs100,000 but he has not mentioned the name or model of the vehicle.  Chief Minister Dr. Malik Baloch owns lands in Quetta, Gwadar and his native Kech district worth around Rs30 million. Malik holds four bank accounts and has roughly Rs300,000 in cash.

All four members of the provincial assembly from Quetta do not own any kind of personal vehicle. Tahir Mehmood Khan owns Rs140 million in assets and liabilities. Provincial Minister Dr. Hamid Achakzai declared he owns vehicles but did not specify how many.

Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti owns 350,000 livestock— 25 camels, 350,000 goats, lamb and 150 cows. He owns a car worth Rs1.8 million and has five bank accounts with a total of Rs4.4 million.

The PkMAP’s Nawab Ayaz Jogezai owns properties worth Rs8.9 million in Quetta, Rs5.5 million in Chashma Achozai, Rs3.5 million in Islamabad, as well as jewelry worth Rs600,000 and furniture worth Rs200,000.

Sardar Raza Mohammed Badech owns a house worth Rs3 million, land worth Rs5 million, an apartment worth Rs1.4 million in Karachi and Rs360,000 in jewelry.

Haji Gul Mohamed Dumar of the JUI does not own a car and his assets are worth Rs60,800. Meanwhile Sardar Mustafa Tareen owns a car worth Rs850,000. ANP leader Engineer Zamruk Khan owns a house worth Rs40 million in Quetta, and is a joint holder of a hotel worth Rs27 million.

The PML-N’s Sardar Mohammed Nasir owns two cars worth Rs1.9 million each, assets worth Rs29.3 million, a coal business worth Rs10 million, Rs1.6 million in jewelry and Rs200,000 in cash.

JUI-F leader Sardar Abdul Rehman Khethran owns a shop in Quetta worth Rs24 million, a house worth Rs20 million, a 14 million-rupee apartment, a vehicle worth Rs15 million, jewelry worth Rs1 million and liquid assets of half a million. Additionally, he owns 11 Kalashnikovs. JUI-F opposition leader Maulana Wasay owns 40 tolas of gold and other assets. He stated that he does not own a vehicle.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.