ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was liable to pay a loan of more than Rs140 million including over Rs60 million he owed to his son Salman Shehbaz and had assets worth Rs137.4 million abroad, according to his wealth statement for the financial year 2020-21 submitted to the electoral body.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday released the wealth details of lawmakers for the previous FY 2020-21.

According to these details, the prime minister owned assets of more than Rs245 million in the previous fiscal year. He had a bank balance of more than Rs20 million and two vehicles registered in his name. Compared to FY 2019-20, Sharif’s assets showed a reduction of over Rs200,000 in the last financial year.

In FY 2019-20, Sharif’s assets were valued at Rs247.4 million. He had Rs63.9 million in bank accounts and assets in Britain worth Rs137.8 million.

In previous FY 2020-21, Sharif’s wife Nusrat Shehbaz had assets worth Rs230 million and his second wife Tehmina Durrani’s assets worth Rs5.76 million.

The assets of former premier Imran Khan showed an increase of more than Rs60 million in FY 2020-21, compared to FY 2019-20.

According to his wealth details for FY 2020-21, Khan’s assets are worth over Rs142.1 million. His assets for FY 2019-20 showed that a loan of Rs70 million was payable on his part while the details of the FY2020-21 did not mention this amount as a payable loan.

The former prime minister’s bank balance in the previous fiscal year was valued at Rs60.3 million and he had two dollar- accounts that had $329,000 in them. He had four goats worth Rs200,000.

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As in FY 2019-20, Khan showed his properties in Islamabad, Lahore, Mianwali, and Bhakkar as his assets in FY 2020-21.

As in FY 2019-20, the former PM’s wife Bushra Bibi wealth details for previous fiscal year suggested that she had a three kanals house in Banigala, 431-kanal of land in Pakpattan, and 266-kanal land in Okara registered in her name

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) supremo Asif Ali Zardari’s assets worth Rs714.2 million in FY 2020-21 – showing no assets abroad.

His son Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s assets for the same fiscal year were valued at Rs1.60 billion. He had shares in businesses abroad and a bank balance of over Rs120 million. The foreign minister owed a loan of Rs334,000.

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 provides that 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.

It further provides that 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).

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.

The Section 137 further provides that 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, 2022