Islamabad:The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended the membership of 154 members of the country’s Senate, national and provincial assemblies after they failed to submit statements of their assets and liabilities.
The lawmakers will remain suspended until the submission of their financial statements, Dawn reported. According to the Pakistan daily, every year ECP suspends the membership of several lawmakers for not submitting the statements. In 2020, more than 300 lawmakers had failed to submit their details.
As per the country’s laws, lawmakers are required to submit their financial statements, along with those of their spouses and children, by December end each year.
The noted Pakistani lawmakers whose names feature in the list are Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Fehmida Mirza, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
Responding to the ECP’s decision, Ali Haider Zaidi, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs said that he had submitted the asset declaration to the ECP on January 5.
“I filed my taxes on Dec 28, 2020 and submitted the asset declaration form with the ECP on January 5, 2021. Don’t understand the fuss!” Zaidi tweeted.