It is heartening to see an empowered Election Commission of Pakistan acting as an autonomous body, after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, and maintaining its mandated check on the elected representatives.
Recently, the Election Commission had suspended the membership of more than two hundred parliamentarians from the treasury as well as opposition benches for not turning in the statements of their assets, a necessary requirement. This certainly goes to the credit of the elected democratic government as well as the EC authorities that they continue to set such fine examples at a time when casting suspicion on every deed by the government or government-led organisation has become a norm.
In this regard, the ECP issued a notice to the respected parliamentarians to submit the statements of their assets so that the original facts and figures may be known to every citizen of Pakistan. The EC suspended the membership of as many as 231 parliamentarians, who did not submit the statements of assets and liabilities according to rule.
At present, the Election Commission has restored the membership of 19 lawmakers, including s 9 members of the National Assembly, four Senators, one member of the Sindh Assembly, three members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and two members of the Balochistan Assembly after they fulfilled the legal requirement and filled their statements of assets and liabilities.
Under clause 42A of the People’s Representation Act 1976 and clause 25A of the Senate Election Rules 1975, parliamentarians of Provincial or National Assembly are bound to submit the statements of their assets along with their dependents’ liabilities by September 30 every year. This clause gives authority to EC to notify the names of those who do not submit these details on October 15 barring them from taking part in the proceedings of their houses. The notified names are sent to the senate chairman and speakers of the assemblies after suspension.
INAYAT ALI GOPANG
Islamabad
