Legal requirement: Thirty-eight PTI lawmakers among those suspended

In 2012, PTI set the trend of voluntarily disclosing assets details of its leadership

ISLAMABAD: In an unusual departure from its squeaky-clean image, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf found its reputation dragged through the mud when the Election Commission of Pakistan named 38 of its legislators among the 272 parliamentarians it suspended for withholding details of their assets.

In the National Assembly, the PTI has 33 members, out of which eight have not submitted their statements. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI has 56 members, fourteen of whom have not submitted their statements.

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In Punjab Assembly, the PTI has 30 seats and 15 of these lawmakers have not yet fulfilled the legal requirement. One of its four members in the Sindh Assembly has not submitted his statements. All seven PTI lawmakers in the Senate, however, have submitted their statements.

Toothless law

The ECP has proposed revamping relevant laws on the subject by introducing a two-month suspension of a lawmaker, if he/she does not do the needful within the stipulated timeframe.

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“The ECP has proposed that the lawmakers who fail to submit their statements by September 30 be suspended for two months,” a senior official from the ECP told The Express Tribune. “During the suspension period, he/she will not be entitled to perks and privileges, he/she enjoys as an MP,” he said.

He said the amendment has been proposed through ‘unified election laws 2015’ submitted to parliamentary committee on electoral reforms.  Responding to a question, he said so far there was no development over this particular amendment.

PTI’s website

In 2012, the PTI took the lead in voluntarily disclosing assets details of its leadership and elected office bearers. The PTI website (http://www.insaf.pk/about-us/leadership-assets) still has asset details of 26 leaders but the declarations are for 2012-13.

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An official from the party’s media cell said leaders submit their statements every year but perhaps they have not been uploaded. When contacted, the PTI Information Secretary Naeemul Haq did not respond to query regarding the leadership reaction to the development.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2015.