Daily Times

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday restored the membership of 25 parliamentarians and allowed them to function as members of Senate and National Assembly on filing their mandatory statements of assets and liabilities to the commission. According to an ECP official, the parliamentarians, who were suspended over non-submission of their asset details, had now filed their statements of assets and liabilities, and fulfilled the legal requirement in conformance with the relevant election laws. It is pertinent to mention that the ECP had suspended the membership of 271 parliamentarians for non-submission of till their statements of assets and liabilities. The membership of four senators, including Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan Ahmed Khan, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Saeed Ahmed Hashmi has been restored. While 21 National Assembly members including Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Raja Riaz Ahmed, Noor Alam Khan, Saad Waseem, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Shahida Rehmani and others have been restored. The Election Rules, 2017 provide that every member of an assembly and Senate would submit to the ECP on or before December 31st each year, a copy of his statement of assets and liabilities, including assets and liabilities of his spouse and dependent children, as on June 30 on Form B. The election rules also provide that the Commission on January 16, by an order, suspend the membership of a member of an assembly and Senate who fails to submit the statement of assets and liabilities by January 15, and such member will cease to function till he or she files the statement of assets and liabilities.