The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the membership of 159 legislators belonging to various lawmaking bodies for failing to submit their annual statements of assets and liabilities.
The action was taken after the final deadline of January 15 expired. According to an official notification issued by the ECP, those suspended include 32 members of the National Assembly (MNAs), nine senators, and a large number of provincial assembly members, 50 from the Punjab Assembly, 33 from the Sindh Assembly, 28 from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and seven from the Balochistan Assembly.
Prominent names suspended from the National Assembly include Syed Ali Musa Gilani, Abdul Qadir Gilani, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, Arshad Abdullah Vohra, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and Saira Afzal Tarar.
Those suspended from the Senate include Abid Sher Ali, Musadik Masood Malik, Murad Saeed, and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri.
From the Sindh Assembly, the memberships of Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman Khan, Saeed Ghani, Jam Khan Shoro, Syed Owais Qadir Shah, and Syed Qaim Ali Shah have been suspended, while from Punjab, Rana Sikandar Hayat, Aamir Hayat Haraj, and Waqar Ahmed Cheema are among those affected.
A day earlier, the Election Commission had warned members of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies to submit their asset details or face suspension.
Under the Election Act 2017, members of parliament are required to submit their financial statements annually by December 31, after which a final grace period extends until mid-January. According to Section 137(3), any member who fails to submit these details by January 15 is automatically suspended on January 16.
