ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday asked all the lawmakers including parliamentarians and members of the provincial assemblies to share with the Commission their wealth details as well as those of their spouses and dependent children by the end of this year.
In a notification, the ECP asked all the lawmakers to submit these statements of the previous fiscal year (2019-20) not later than December 31, 2020.
Constitutionally, the lawmakers are bound to submit their yearly statements of assets and liabilities and those of their spouses and dependent children as on each year's June 30, a mandatory requirement under Section 137 of the Elections Act, 2017.
This section reads, "Submission of statement of assets and liabilities.-(1) Every member of an Assembly and Senate shall submit to the Commission, on or before 31st December each year, a copy of his/her statement of assets and liabilities including assets and liabilities of his spouse and dependent children as on the preceding thirtieth day of June on Form B.
"(2) The Commission, on the first day of January each year through a press release, shall publish the names of members who failed to submit the requisite statement of assets and liabilities within the period specified under sub-section (1).
"(3) The Commission shall, on the sixteenth day of January, by an order suspend the membership of a member of the Assembly and Senate who fails to submit the statement of assets and liabilities by the 15th day of January and such Member shall cease to function till he files the statement of assets and liabilities.
"(4) Where a Member submits the statement of assets and liabilities under this section which is found to be false in material particulars, he may, within one hundred and twenty days from the date submission of the statement, be proceeded against for committing the offence of corrupt practice."
The ECP, every year, makes public the wealth details of the legislators, their spouses and dependent children of the previous fiscal year.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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