Buzdar owns assets worth over Rs84m

ISLAMABAD: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar owns assets worth over Rs 84 million including two cars, four tractors and 20 tolas of gold.

According to the details of assets of Members Provincial Assembly (MPAs) of Punjab and Balochistan Assemblies, released by Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday, the CM Punjab does not have any business in Pakistan or abroad.

Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz Sharif owns assets worth Rs 400 million.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Sajida Yousuf is the poorest lawmaker of the Punjab Assembly with only Rs 217 in her bank account.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi owns assets worth Rs 220 million.

PTI’s Aleem Khan owns assets worth over Rs1.5 billion.

Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat has assets worth Rs 29.3 million.

In Balochistan Assembly, former Balochistan CM Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani owns assets worth Rs 21 billion, including agricultural land worth Rs19 million, and a residential plot Rs 1.796 billion and vehicles worth Rs 3.750 billion. He also has Rs513.8 million bank deposits and cattle worth Rs230 million. He owns Rs1.735 billion worth of properties in Malta.

MPA Jan Muhammad Jamali owns 40 acres of agricultural land, 60 tola gold, and cars worth Rs2.5 million. He has over Rs740 million in cash with bank deposits of Rs426,000.

PTI Parliamentary Leader in Balochistan Assembly Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, owns 14,011 acres of agricultural land, a residential plot in Dera Murad Jamali worth Rs3 million, two houses in Quetta worth Rs20 million and Rs36 million worth of a house in Islamabad. He also has Rs36 million worth of two apartments and villas worth Rs42 million in Dubai. He has 640 tolas of gold, four vehicles and Rs28.8 million in cash as inherited assets. He also has 6.3 million Dirham and Rs1.2 million in cash besides owning Rs8.5 worth of furniture. Rind also owns Rs25 million worth of agriculture commodities and Rs2 million worth of arms and ammunition.

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