NA speaker directs suspended members to leave House as members barred from proceedings until statements submitted
ISLAMABAD:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended 159 members of parliament and provincial assemblies for their failure to submit statements of their assets and liabilities.
The suspension affects 32 National Assembly members, 50 members of the Punjab Assembly, 33 of the Sindh Assembly, 28 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and seven Balochistan Assembly members. Nine senators were also suspended, and the suspended members will not be able to participate in any parliamentary or provincial assembly proceedings until their memberships are restored.
Prominent political leaders who have been suspended include Balochistan National Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
From the Pakistan Peoples Party, Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani and Ali Musa Gilani have been suspended from the National Assembly. Members National Assembly Saira Afzal Tarar and Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto have also been suspended.
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From the Sindh Assembly, the party’s Speaker Awais Qadir Shah, former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, and Saeed Ghani have also been suspended.
From the Senate, the memberships of Fauzia Arshad, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Abid Sher Ali and Musaddiq Malik, along with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Murad Saeed, and Noor ul Haq Qadri have been suspended.
From the Sindh Assembly, Speaker Awais Qadir Shah, former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, Agha Shehbaz Durrani, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, and Saeed Ghani have been suspended.
The ECP says the memberships of the concerned members will not be restored until they submit their statements of assets and liabilities.
Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has directed the suspended members to leave the House, saying their attendance will not be recorded, nor will they be allowed to sit in.
Under Pakistani election laws, all elected representatives are required to submit annual statements of their assets and liabilities to the ECP. Failure to comply with this requirement results in automatic suspension of membership.
